Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-16
THE BLACK CAT
AUNT MATILDA'S WARNING TO
WHINING CHILDREN.
Written Exclusively for The Evening Star.

Written Exclusively for The Evening Star.
IT declar' TO gracious. eff you all chil'ren
don't fly out of dis here kitchin dere surely
won't be no dinner tall fur anybody dis
blessed day. Den your pa an ma wonder
what in de world Use been doin.'"
''Oh, never mind that, Aunt Matilda"
cry the children. Tell us a story first and
then we will get cut"
"All right, den, chirren. I'll tell you les
one. 1 amt never told you of de chile
what was turned into a cat, has I?'
mo, we have never heard that, Aunt Ma
tlda"
well. den, OATS what I'll tell you all
'bout-'specially 1 done teerd one of
you cryin' bout de house good deal late
ly. An 1 hopes you'll all not furgit dis
story. fur it was fur cryin' an whinin' dat
de chile I has in mind was turned into a
cat.
Dis chile dat tells of lived with his pa
an ma in as nice house you done wish
to see. He had all he want, an right smart
beside, to tell you all de truth, but nothin
tall didn't seem to suit him, an he cry an
whine, an whine an cry, day an night.
So, in de course of time, chil'ren de habit
growed an growed on him so dat at last
he couldn't stop it.
do you mean. Aunt Matilda inquired
one of the children. that the poor child at
"Yas. indeedy: OATS jes' what / means
percisely, chirren. 1t growed on him so
dat he couldn't no more stop it den he could
stop breathin'. OF course his ma an pa
had 'monstrated wild de chile, an told him
dat cryin' an whinin amt do no one man,
woman or chile, good, but all dere mon
strances didn't do no good. an SO at last
de chile'S Ia call to see de WiZZle WuZzie
Man bout him.
THE While Wuzzle Man, Aunt Matilda"
the children wonderingly ask.
Oats what 1 says, ctirren,' remarks
the old woman, and in a way. too, which
convinces the young ones that all they are
to do is to sit still and listen. An, as 1
was a-sayin', de chile's pa he goes to call
on de Wizzle Wuzzle Man, an tells him
how dat chile cry an whine, an whine an
cry all de time. His pa say: Amt dere
any wey of stoppin' it, Mr.. Wizzle Wuzzle"
an he say: Vas, sab: dere is. Dat is he
say. it'll done stop itself, an mighty soon
at dat
'Of course. de cbfle's pa mighty glad to
hear de WiZzle Wuzzle Man say dat, an he
go home pc werful happy. But he no sooner
git in sight of his home when he see de
chile's ma runnin' out to meet him, wiring
in her hands an cryin' like her heart
break sure. She tell him dat jes a little
while befo' he come de chile got to cryin'
an whinin, an SO powerful hard dat all at
once a big black cloud filled de room, an
when it blew way de chile was gone. an
in his place was great, big black cat, wild
big red eyes. De cat, she say, was a-cryln'
an a-Whinin', an a-Snappin' an a-snarlin'
like 1t was wild, an when she opened de
door it flew out into de woods. spittin' fire
at every jump.
What did the little boys papa and nam
ma do them" the children anxiously in
quired.
well. dey look bout everywhere to see
If dey find de chile Dey look high an dey
look low, but dey don't find him, an dey
know. den, dat de Wizzle Wuzzle Man done
changed him into de black cat. De little
boys pa he go to see de While Wuzzle
Man again. an he 'cuse him of changin'
de chile into de cat But Mr.. Wizzle Wuz-
zle say he didn't have nuthin' tall to do
wild it, dat it was de cryin' an whinin dat
did it. an Gen he go on to tell de little
hcy's pa dat while he didn't have nuthin'
tall to do wild changin' de chile into de
cat, he do have powerful lot to do wild
changin' cats back into children ag'in.'
And did the Wizze Wuzzle Man change
the cat back into the little boy?" the chill
dren ask the old woman.
"He didn't at fust 1 tell you, chirren.
Deed, 1t was mighty long time befo' he
did. You see 1t was jes like dis: MIR.
Wizzle Wuzzle he tell de chile's pa dat he
very sorry, an would like to change de cat
back into de little boy but he say dat it
amt goin to hurt him to be de cat fur
time. as de longer he be de cat de more
he'll preciate de diff renee from bein' a cat
an ben' a chile.
$50 de little boys pa he go back home
mighty sorrowful like, an de chile's ma
cry an cry till she most go wild. But de
time de cat stay in de woods, in de darkest
part of it, out sight of everybody, but a
Cryin, an a-whinin', an a-snappin', an
a-snarlin' all de time. Things go on dat
way fur a long time. till one day the Wiz
zle Wuzzle Man he 90 way into de woods,
catches de black cat. an den sends fur de
chile's pa an ma. When Gey git to Mr..
Wizzle Wuzzle's house. de cat amt no
longer a-cryin' an a-snarlin, but layin'
down front of de fire jes' as peaceful an
quiet as you please Mr.. While Wuzzle
tell de chile's pa an ma dat he guess he
can safely change de cat back into de little
boy now, as he had done come to b'lieve
dat de chile had been cured forever of cry
in an whinin'. So. Mr.. While Wuzzle, he
throwed sometlin' in de fire dat made big
black smoke. an when it blew up de Chin
ney, 10 and behold. dere was de little boy
standin' where de cat had been, a-smIin'
an a-laughin'. an from dat day to dis dat
chile amt cried or whined, an dat was
many. many years ago, chl'ren.
Now, you see chii'ren,' remarks the old
woman, as she dsmsses her audience Its
mighty easy fur a chile. by cryin' an
whinin' all de time, to become a-snarlin',
snappin' black cat but jes riccolec' dat de
Wizzle Wuzzle Man amt bound to turn
every cat back into chile, an dat de
chances is dat once you is. by cryin' an
whinin, black cat, black cat you Is
goin' to be to de end of time"