Thomas Williams, Harmony Hall, Cock-pit country.
Rat got married, an’ dere was rice and peas provide for de helping of
food fe de dinner. It was so richly cook an’ so much dat it get burn.
So Rat remember dat de rice burn in de pot, an’ Rat like ’crapin’, an’
while he was goin’ home wid his wife in de way, when he get part way he
said to her, “I forget somet’ing very valuable in de wedding house,
have to go back fe it!” She said yes, an’ put out de buggy on de
water-table [42] an’ run back to de wedding house, never went in where
everybody in de house merrying himself, went to de kitchen. So de pot
wid de bu’n rice was lean up by de side of de wall. So de force he go
to de pot wid trouble de pot, [43] an’ de pot, ’stead of rolling away,
tu’n over cover him underneat’. An’ when he fin’ dat he couldn’t come
out, he said, “Chut! what about dat? I wouldn’t give a biscuit fe a man
who kyan’t lose his night rest!” and he begin to ’crape bu’nt part
kur-ur-rup krup krup krup.
His wife calling now, “Mr. Rat! Mr. Rat!”—“Me head fasten in pot o!”
Tu’n back ’crape ’crape. So de cook hear de noise and went out in de
kitchen, find it was Rat underneat’ de pot an’ call out fe help. An’
come out lift up de pot an’ kill him. Dat’s why so many widows in de
world, because dere husband died and left ’em.