DE PRODEGALE SON
Shawn found a seat on one of the benches reserved for the white people.
Uncle Brad was in the pulpit. He arose, in all of the dignity of the
occasion. The little church was well filled with colored people. After a
song and prayer, uncle Brad came forward and began reading, to all
appearances, from the last half of the fifteenth chapter of Luke.
Closing the Bible, he began, "I have read fo' yo' heahin' de story uv de
Prodegale Son. Dis hyar boy, han'sum an' smart, bergin to git tired uv
de fawm--he heer'd de boys frum de city tellin' erbout de great doin's
down dar, en de mo' he look eroun' de mo' de ole place los' hit's chawm,
en fine'ly he goes to hi' daddy en says, says he, 'Pap, I dun git to de
age when I waun' see sum uv de wurl, en' ef yo' gwine do ennything fo'
me, do hit now.' Yessir, he lit a seegar en blow de smoke thru hi' nose
en say, 'Do hit now!'
"De boy dun fergit how his daddy fotch him up an' feed him an' clothe
him, but dat doan' count wid chillun. Dey kine er reason hit dis way:
'Yo' 'sponsibul fo' my bein' heah, en yo' bleeged to teck keer uv me'.
De ole man kiner swole up, but he drawed his check on de bank--de Bible
doan' say how much, but hit mus' ter been a pile, fer de Bible doan'
fool wid little things. De boy wen' 'roun' to tell 'em all good-bye, an'
his mammy jes' fell on his neck an' wep'. He wuz de black sheep, an' hit
seem dat de mammies allus love dese black sheep de best. When he cum to
tell his brother good-bye, de brother kiner put hi' han' to hi' mouf en
say, 'Doan' yo' write back to me when yo' git busted,' en de Prodegale
Son he say, 'Pooh, pooh, yo' clod-hopper.'
"Dar wuz de ole folks sottin' on de poach as he wen' down de road. Dey
could see him ergin crowin' in de craddle; dey could see him larnin'
how to teck his fust step, en back in de years, dey could heah de fust
word he ever said--de fust one mos' uv us says, _mammy_.
[Illustration: "De Prodegale Son."]
"He rech de city, en dere wuz frens waitin' him by de score, en dey say,
'Whut a fine genermun! Whut a spote! All wool en a yahd wide!' Yassir!
An he smile an' swole up an' say, 'Le's have sunthin!' Dey go inter de
bar, en de barkeeper smile en say, 'Whut's yourn, gents?' Some say ole
fashun toddy, some say gin, en' so on. De young man res' hi' foot on de
railin' uv de bar, en look at hi'sel' in de glass, en he see de dimun
rings on his fingers jes' glis'nin', an' when de licker gits to workin'
inside him, he look in de glass ergin, en 'lows to hi'sel', 'I reckon
I'se jes' about de wahmest thing in dis hyar town,'--an' he wuz! He
foots all de bills. Lawse! how he meck frens. He tell er story, en dey
all jes' laff fit ter bust, an' say, 'Hain' he great!' De ladies uv de
town, some uv 'em, dey roll dey black eyes at him an' say, 'Hain' he
sweet!' He done fergot de little girl wid de blue eyes an' de gold ha'r
blowin' in de win'. De gamblers tuck a crack at him, too--dey kin tell a
sucker three miles off. Dey showed him how to handle de kyards an' roll
de bones, en he rar'd back in a sof' cheer wid a black seegar in hi'
mouf an' see his money slip erway. Lawse! yo' oreter see his room whar
he stay. He slep' in a feather-tick nine foot deep, an' show-nuff goose
feathers, mine yo'; a red lam' wool blanket, en lookin'-glasses all over
de wall, so ez he could see hi'sel' whichever way he tu'n. Nobody to
scole him erbout gittin' up in de mawnin' en he had his breakfas' fotch
up on a silver waiter by a shiny nigger, but somehow, de vittels got so
dey didn't tase ez good ez dey did down on de ole fawm. City grub looks
mi'ty temp'in at fust, but after while when yo' git down ter kinder
pickin' ovah hit, yo'll find dat hit's lackin' in de juice er sunthin',
en yo' long to lay yo' gums on de things jes' whar dey grow.
"Byme-bye--hit allus comes, he see dat he's gittin' low in cash, en
'fore long yo' see him slippin' 'roun' to de pawn shop. De ole pawn-shop
man he scowl at him an' fix ter bleed him good en strong. His dimun
shirt-stud wen' fust, en one by one de rings on hi' fingers, tell dey
look ez bare ez a bean-pole in de wintah time.
"He move his bo'din' house, en purty soon he move ergin, tell he fine'ly
cum ter a house whar dey didn't have much mo' den liver hash. Oh, Lord!
Liver hash! Whar wuz his frens? Ef enny uv yo' hez ever been dar, good
an' busted, yo' know whar dey wuz. Dey tu'n erway frum him lack he wuz a
polecat.
"One mawnin' when ever'thing wuz gone, he started frum de city. Whut a
change! One shurt wuz all he had, en dat hadn' seen de wash fer two
weeks. He wuz seedy en his heart wuz sore; he wuz down an' out, en clean
out, en didn't even have chawin' terbacker. He look lack a turkey
buzzard ez had lost his wing-feathers. He wundered on; he stop by de
bridge whar de water wuz tricklin' down below--he see de picture uv
hi'sel' in de water, en' hit meck de cole chills run up hi' back.
'Shamed er himsel'? He dun got so ershamed dat he look lack he cum out'n
a hole in de groun'. Byme-bye he cum to a fawm house, en ast fer a job.
Yo' know he mus' er been awful hongry to think erbout wuk, but he dun
got so hongry dat he et yarbs en sapplin' bark er ennything. De fawmer
look at him en say, 'I cudden' hev yo' erbout de house; de wimmen
wouldn' stan' fer hit, but I got some hawgs up de holler yo' kin feed,
but yo'll hev to stay erway frum hyar, ez I doan' wan' my chillun
skeered.'
"He wen' up de holler. De win' sigh en groan thru de poppaw bushes, en
he wuz sad, en de dark drap down en hit wuz so lonesome; nobody but de
katydids en de screech-owl en dem hawgs. Doan' yo' feel sorry fer him,
frens? I do--I feel sorry fer ennybody in dat sort er fix, but feelin'
sorry hain' gwine ter holp much when yo' git yo'se'f tied up in sech a
box. He fed dem hawgs, he et what dem hawgs et, he slep' close to dem
hawgs, he wuz suttenly _on de hawg_, but dey wuz better company en dem
gamblers en some dem wimmen in de city--yes, dey wuz.
"Byme-bye, one night, ez he see de moon comin' over de hill, en de stars
winkin en blinkin' in de sky, he got ter thinkin' uv de ole home, uv de
chitlins en de spare ribs, de fat biskits en de sweet milk, de persarves
en de yaller butter--he jes' cudden' stand hit. He walk down to de
hawg-pen en throw over some cawn en say, 'Far'well, my frens, I'se done
de bes' I kin fer yo', but I'm gwine home!'
"He struck out, fust in a kine er foxtrot, but de mo' he thought er
home, de faster he got. Erlong time hit seem, over dat lonesome road. De
little chillun cum out ter look at him, but fly back inter de house, he
look so awdashus, en ef he meet a hawg in de road, he cudden' look him
in de face. He could smell de ham and hominy fryin' in de skillet at de
houses whar he pass, en' hit meck hi' mouf water lack a hoss wid de
slobbers.
"Fine'ly he see erway down yondah, de ole place frum de top uv de
hill--de ole house sottin' back in de cool shade. He tuck a hitch on
his rotten britches an' hit de grit.
"Ez he cum up to de yahd gate, his dawg bark at him, an' his daddy cum
down de yahd wid his big gold-headed cane, en he never knowed hi' son
whatsomever, tell de boy kiner drag up en say, 'Pap, fo' Gawd sake,
gimme sunthin' ter eat!'
"Ole Miss, his mammy, sot by de big winder, lookin' kinder sad-like,
doin' fancy wuk wid her needle, en singin' sorter sof 'In De Sweet Bye
en' Bye,' en' presen'ly she hear her boy's voice--a mammy kin hear de
voice uv her boy a long way--en' she jump up en' thode her sewin' erway
en' cried out ez de tears stream down her cheek, 'Praise Gawd, my boy
done cum back!'
"De ole genermun knowed de black sheep dun cum home, en he holler out en
say, 'Bring de bes' robe en put hit on him, but wash him in de pon'
fust!' Den he say, 'Bring de fattes' calf, de one fed on de bran' mash!'
Dey wuz merry, en his mammy wep' on his neck, arfter hit wuz washed, en
when he sot down to de table, en she give him de veal cutlets en de
light rolls, he des hook his laig 'roun' a cheer 'roun' an' lay to, en
he des kin er roll frum side ter side, layin' in de grub, en licken' his
fingers, en passin' up hi' plate--en dey think he's thru, en gwine set
back, but he jes' teck a fresh holt en square hi'se'f erway en des roam
eroun' in glory, en he smile, en de grease jes' a-shinin' on hi' chin.
"But de brother wuz mad. He 'low dat he stay at home, en ack a puffeck
genermun, en dis hyar skalawag jes' play de devil ginerally, en den cum
back lack er skunk en dey tu'n de ole house upside down fer him. He chaw
de rag monstrous fer a spell, but de ole man fine'ly tell him ef he
doan' lack hit, he better go out en try de wurl hi'se'f, en de brother
look at de Prodegale, en kiner shiver en simmer down.
"Dat night when de Prodegale got inter de feather-bed, whar he done hid
a ham-bone under de piller, en hi' mammy tucked him in en kiss him good
night, he strotch hi'se'f en say, 'When I goes erway frum heah ergin, I
goes erway daid!' En he drap to sleep--de sweetes' sleep fo' many er
long time, en dream uv de little gal wid de blue eyes, who wuz still er
waitin' fer him.
"Young men, all I wan' ter say tuh yo' by de way uv windin' up is
dis--Ef yo' got a good home, er enny sort uv home, stay dar!"
And Shawn, sitting by the window, clasped his little Testament and
fervently said, "Amen!"