Read Online Every Tongue Got to Confess by Zora Neale Hurston - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Zora Neale Hurston
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now. I tole you not to come upon dis hill.”
“When I had you, I granted your request; now there’s one request I want you to grant me—I want to go down and tell my wife good-bye—and you see her down dere in de buggy.”
He goes down and got his wife and wrapped her in de rug and put her under his arm and walked on back. De devil saw him coming, ast him: “Whut’s dat you got under your arm?”
“My vice.” Devil tole him to gwan back—he didn’t need him. Some years later John died and went to hell—devil looked through the iron gate and saw him. Give him some matches and tole him to go on back and build a hell of his own.
—L. O. T AYLOR .
A Negro and de devil had a bet of one thousand dollars to tell which one was the strongest. They brought out a five-ton hammer, placed it on the ground, and going to see which one could throw it the farthest. Devil picked up de hammer at nine A.M. and threw it. Turned to the Negro and said: “We’ll go home—the hammer won’t return until three days later.”
On the third morning at nine A.M. the hammer fell. Knocked a hole in the ground big enough to place three counties in it. They took the hammer out and placed it on level again and it was then the Negro’s time to throw it. The Negro looked straight towards the clouds and said: “Stand back, Rayfield (Raphael); move back, Abraham; watch your step, Jesus.”
The devil walked up to the Negro and said to him: “Don’t you throw my damn hammer up there. Some of my tools was left there when the Lord threw me down, and I ain’t got ’em yet.”
—J ONATHAN H INES.
You know de devil don’t do everything they say. One day uh man wuz on his way tuh church an’ he wuz late, so he cut crost uh pasture. When he wuz gettin’ under de barb-wire fence he snagged his pants, an’ he said: “Oh shucks! de devil done dat.”
Soon’s he said dat he heard somebody snufflin’ an’ cryin’ an’ he looked up an’ seen uh man settin’ on uh fence post justacryin’. De man wuz sayin’: “Ah sho do have uh hard time. Now there goes another man lyin’ on me.”
It wuz de devil!
—W. M. R ICHARDSON.
Why We Say “Unh Hunh” †
A widow lady had jus’ one chile and it was a girl. She was mighty pretty. A man next door had four children.
So one day de Devil come stole ’em all. He put two chillen under each arm and put de pretty girl in his mouf.
De widow looked up and saw him flyin off wid her pretty daughter in his mouf so she thought up a way to git her back. So she hollered and ast: “Hey, old Satan, is you comin back after more?”
He says: “Yeah.” Kerdap! De girl fell out his mouf and run back to her mama.
Next time he got somebody in his mouf they (the people) hollered and ast him: “Hey, Satan, is you comin back for more?”
He said: “Unh hunh” and kept right on.
—M ACK C. F ORD.
* Marked to supply missing word (probably “mansion”) but word was not supplied.
De Witch Woman †
There was a witch woman wid a saddle-cat who could git out her skin and go ride people she didn’t like. She had a great big looking-glass. When she git ready to go out she’d git befo dat glass naked. Jus befo she shake herself she would go and lay all her clothes out—stretch em out on de bed so she wouldn’t have no trouble when she git back.
Then she’d go back befo de glass and shake herself and she’d say: “Gee whiz! Slip ’em and slip ’em agin!” And de old skin would slip off and she’d git out on her [illegible] and she’d look back and say “umph!! I forgot sumthin.” And she’d go back to her keyhole and she blow and say, “Open door, lemme come in agin.” And she’d go back and spread de old skin out at de fire place and tell de skin, “So remember who you are.”
And one time her old use-to-be she used to love so hard was eave-dropping her and when she got away he slipped in and salts de hide wid pepper and salt. She couldn’t find her old use-to-be at his
“When I had you, I granted your request; now there’s one request I want you to grant me—I want to go down and tell my wife good-bye—and you see her down dere in de buggy.”
He goes down and got his wife and wrapped her in de rug and put her under his arm and walked on back. De devil saw him coming, ast him: “Whut’s dat you got under your arm?”
“My vice.” Devil tole him to gwan back—he didn’t need him. Some years later John died and went to hell—devil looked through the iron gate and saw him. Give him some matches and tole him to go on back and build a hell of his own.
—L. O. T AYLOR .
A Negro and de devil had a bet of one thousand dollars to tell which one was the strongest. They brought out a five-ton hammer, placed it on the ground, and going to see which one could throw it the farthest. Devil picked up de hammer at nine A.M. and threw it. Turned to the Negro and said: “We’ll go home—the hammer won’t return until three days later.”
On the third morning at nine A.M. the hammer fell. Knocked a hole in the ground big enough to place three counties in it. They took the hammer out and placed it on level again and it was then the Negro’s time to throw it. The Negro looked straight towards the clouds and said: “Stand back, Rayfield (Raphael); move back, Abraham; watch your step, Jesus.”
The devil walked up to the Negro and said to him: “Don’t you throw my damn hammer up there. Some of my tools was left there when the Lord threw me down, and I ain’t got ’em yet.”
—J ONATHAN H INES.
You know de devil don’t do everything they say. One day uh man wuz on his way tuh church an’ he wuz late, so he cut crost uh pasture. When he wuz gettin’ under de barb-wire fence he snagged his pants, an’ he said: “Oh shucks! de devil done dat.”
Soon’s he said dat he heard somebody snufflin’ an’ cryin’ an’ he looked up an’ seen uh man settin’ on uh fence post justacryin’. De man wuz sayin’: “Ah sho do have uh hard time. Now there goes another man lyin’ on me.”
It wuz de devil!
—W. M. R ICHARDSON.
Why We Say “Unh Hunh” †
A widow lady had jus’ one chile and it was a girl. She was mighty pretty. A man next door had four children.
So one day de Devil come stole ’em all. He put two chillen under each arm and put de pretty girl in his mouf.
De widow looked up and saw him flyin off wid her pretty daughter in his mouf so she thought up a way to git her back. So she hollered and ast: “Hey, old Satan, is you comin back after more?”
He says: “Yeah.” Kerdap! De girl fell out his mouf and run back to her mama.
Next time he got somebody in his mouf they (the people) hollered and ast him: “Hey, Satan, is you comin back for more?”
He said: “Unh hunh” and kept right on.
—M ACK C. F ORD.
* Marked to supply missing word (probably “mansion”) but word was not supplied.
De Witch Woman †
There was a witch woman wid a saddle-cat who could git out her skin and go ride people she didn’t like. She had a great big looking-glass. When she git ready to go out she’d git befo dat glass naked. Jus befo she shake herself she would go and lay all her clothes out—stretch em out on de bed so she wouldn’t have no trouble when she git back.
Then she’d go back befo de glass and shake herself and she’d say: “Gee whiz! Slip ’em and slip ’em agin!” And de old skin would slip off and she’d git out on her [illegible] and she’d look back and say “umph!! I forgot sumthin.” And she’d go back to her keyhole and she blow and say, “Open door, lemme come in agin.” And she’d go back and spread de old skin out at de fire place and tell de skin, “So remember who you are.”
And one time her old use-to-be she used to love so hard was eave-dropping her and when she got away he slipped in and salts de hide wid pepper and salt. She couldn’t find her old use-to-be at his
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