A quiet boy was Joe Bedotte,
An' no sign anyw'ere
Of anyt'ing at all he got
Is up to ordinaire--
An' w'en de teacher tell heem go
An' tak' a holiday,
For wake heem up, becos' he 's slow,
Poor Joe would only say,
"Wall! meb-be."
Don't bodder no wan on de school
Unless dey bodder heem,
But all de scholar t'ink he 's fool
Or walkin' on a dream--
So w'en dey 're closin' on de spring
Of course dey 're moche surprise
Dat Joe is takin' ev'ry-t'ing
Of w'at you call de prize.
[Illustration: "Don't bodder no wan on de school
Unless dey bodder heem."]
An' den de teacher say, "Jo-seph,
I know you 're workin' hard--
Becos' w'en I am pass mese'f
I see you on de yard
A-splittin' wood--no doubt you stay
An' study half de night?"
An' Joe he spik de sam' ole way
So quiet an' polite,
"Wall! meb-be."
Hees fader an' hees moder die
An' lef' heem dere alone
Wit' chil'ren small enough to cry,
An' farm all rock an' stone--
But Joe is fader, moder too,
An' work bote day an' night
An' clear de place--dat 's w'at he do,
An' bring dem up all right.
De Curé say, "Jo-seph, you know
Le bon Dieu 's very good--
He feed de small bird on de snow,
De caribou on de wood--
But you deserve some credit too--
I spik of dis before."
So Joe he dunno w'at to do
An' only say wance more,
"Wall! meb-be."
An' Joe he leev' for many year
An' helpin' ev'ry wan
Upon de parish far an' near
Till all hees money 's gone--
An' den de Curé come again
Wit' tear-drop on hees eye--
He know for sure poor Joe, hees frien',
Is well prepare to die.
"Wall! Joe, de work you done will tell
W'en you get up above--
De good God he will treat you well
An' geev' you all hees love.
De poor an' sick down here below,
I 'm sure dey 'll not forget,"
An' w'at you t'ink he say, poor Joe,
Drawin' hees only breat'?
"Wall! meb-be."
[Illustration: Border]