The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-02-27
Sarah's story.

Sarah's story.
Sarah's stories were wonderful things.
To be sure, they are apt to be a little
startling, and generally ended by soaring
her listeners half out of their wits but
that only make them more delightfully."-
exciting.
BY this time the children, getting a
hint of the coming treat, began to crowd
around, and Sarah began
"Now, all you young uns must sit
main still if I'm gwine to tell story.
Nimpo and Anna were already occu-
plying the only spare chairs. Rush sat
on the wood-box, and the biggest john
son girl on a key, while the rest OF the
children squatted around on the floor,
making q close semi-circle about Sarah.
Sarah's virtue as story-teller was III
her face and manner. She was very
black, with large rolling eyes, very
long face, monstrous mouth, great
white teeth, and long thin hands, which
had an uncanny white look on the in
side, as though the color were coming
off.
Perhaps you don't think hands have
much to do with story telling, but they
had with Sarah's, can tell you.
Quieting her audience with threats of
d" claring 'em all out the house," she
began in q low, solemn voice:
"Onct upon time, way down in Ole
Kentuck', there lived a MAN He was
awful rich, and had heaps an heaps
o nice things in his dark cellar. Bottles
an bottles o wine, bsr'ls an barls o
cider, an lots an lots o hams, barls
an bar'ls o. bacon, an bins an bins o
apples, an jars an jars O. sweetmeats,
an boxes an boxes o raisins, an o.!
pile. O. good things to eat, in that dark
cellar"
Sarah paused to see the effect. Rush
smacked his lips, and the eyes of the
whole Johnson family rolled in ecstasy
at the delightful picture.
"But he was awful stingy Not
a speck of all these yer goodies would
he guy to amy body. Lor' he al'us
KEEP the key in his own pocket, an if
he wanted ham for dinner, he went down
in that yer dark cellar, an cut slice,
huff fur hisself An if he wanted wine,
he ies went down an fotched bottle,
an alus locked the do arter him, an
newer guy Sam the fustest speck ~
"Who's dat ar 2" asked one of the
children.
You shet up I'll crack we over
the head, if we don't stop cuttin' up SIGH
shines y Sarah replied.
The interrupter shrunk behind his
mother, and felt snubbed.
"Well, now, Sarah went on, rolling
her eyes, "that ar Sam was pc nigga
the only nigga the stingy man had
an he was that stingy he ever half fed
him no way. He guy him a leetle corn
meal for hoe cakes, an onct in great
while leetle tceny bit NV thin slice O.
bacon. So Sam got thinner an thinner,
till he was near q shadder, an his
fingers were Long an b-o-n-y."
And Sarah held up hers and clawed
them in the air, till tho children could
almost see Sam and his bony hands.
"Well, one day this bad man had to
go way off to the big city, an he hadn't
got nobody to leave in the house but
jes Sam. So he done measured out jes
so much corn-meal, an he said /: Now
Sam, shall be gone away three days,
an thatl have to last we till get back.
I'll warrant ye'd like to jes eat it every
scrap the fust day, an ak fur mo'-it's
jes like ye-but not snojen do you get
till / come back, fur I've locked every
thing up. An if l find anything out O.
order when / come back, Pll-I'll-
wallop you see if L don't |"
with that al DIR e-f-f-u-l threat, the
cruel Mah'sr went of, an left Sam all
alone. Well, Sam went to clarin' up
the house, an when he went to hang up
his Nah sr's everyday cloze,-fur in
course he wore his Sunday ones to 60
to town,-he hars somethin' hit agin the
wall, an he thought to hisself: III
see what that ar is. Mebby Mah'sr s
done left penny in his pocket. Oh,
golly won't buy bun 7 An he put
his hand in the pocket, an aOitat do goa
-s,pose he found 2
1.-THE CELLAR KEY !"
Sarah, looking wildly at her listeners
said these thrilling words in an awful
whisper, with roll of the eyes, and {
dropping of the jaw, that made it still
more horrible.
"'Oh, Lori here's the key 7 SAID
Sam to hisself what shall / do ?
An then he thought awhile. But sakes
chillen, pears like the Debil is al'us
waitin' fur chances, an so he popped
into Sans head to jes go an took at the
good things. 1 won't touch airy bit,
said Sam, fur Ole Nah sr'd find out i
one apple stems gone, but I'll look.
That was the fust wrong step, chillen
Ye know how hard it is to defrain, if "
look at the things We oughten ter
Well, this yer onreverent nigga creep
down stairs an unlocked the do, an
p-e-e-p-e-d in-trem'lin', fit to drop
He more spected to see Ole Mah'sr be
hind a bar'l But it was rs s-t-i-l-l al
the grave, so he c-r-e-p-t in. There
hung the long rows o HAMS
iuicy an sweet and Sam went up an
Thought to hisself, Now, I'll ies smell
% nc 90 he smelIed of IL. an it wa,