Evening star., 1940-10-01
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS.

or Mistah Buzzard had just told
the story of how it happens that
he has q red head. His friend,
Unc' Billy Possum, came along just
in time to hear the end Of it.
did All understand yo' all to
say that all buzzards have red
heads?" inquired Unc' Billy.
or Mistah Buzzard looked down
at Unc' Billy and he saw twinkle
in Unc' Billy's eyes. "Ah knows
jes' who yo' have got on yo' mind,
Br'er Possum. It's that trifling, no
count cousin of mine. He's buzz
zard jes' like All ann but he belongs
to different branch Of the family.
He has black head, he has, and
that's because his grandpap was
trifling and po' trash, jes' like he is"
Peter Rabbit pricked up his ears.
That sounded like story. ANY,
way, he was curious about that
black-headed cousin of or Mistah
BuzZard.
How does yo' cousin come to have
black head?" inquired Peter
Rabbit.
Because his grandpap asked too
many questions" replied or Mistah
Buzzard, shortly.
Everybody laughed and Peter
Rabbit looked foolish, for no one
asks more questions than Peter
ohhit 1otInhod urith tho
others, but kept right on asking
for the story. Finally or Mistah
Buzzard grinned good naturedly
and began.
"Way back in the days when
Grandpap Buzzard had his lii fall
ing out with OF King Eagle, all on
account of po' lii Mistah Sparrer
Hawk" said or Mistah Buzzard,
his cousin used to go about max
ing nuisance of hiSSelf by poking
his nose into everybody's business.
Wasn't anything going on that
this trif1ing member of the Buzzard
family didn't know about and
meddle in. He could ask mo- ques-
tions than Peter Rabbit can now,
and he jes' went aroun' from
mo'ning till night asking questions.
"One day he had been warming
his toes on the top of a chimney
where he hadn't ever been befo'
OF course. he was right smart
curious to know who lived there and
what they did. He could hear
somebody talking to themselves, and
he just stretched his head as far
down the chimney as he could and
listened and listened 1t wasn't any
use All he could hear was jest a
mumbling. OF course, that made
him more curious than ever, and it
seemed to him he must 60 plumb
outen his head less he could hear
what was going on down inside that
lii Of house.
He stetched his head and neck
so far down the chimney that he
| got 'em all black with SCOT, but he
| didn't mind that. Yo' see, he didn't
notice it at all. Pretty soon he
plumb forgot where he was or that
| he was listening where he had no
business to be.
"'Will yo' alls please speak a liz
louder?' he hollers down the Chin
ney, jes' like that.
Now, the lii oil woman who lived
by herself in that lii OIL house
hadn't seen Grandpap Buzzard's
cousin light on the chimney, and
when she heard that voice coming
right outen the fireplace she was
scared. Yes. sab, she was plumb
scared, and she tipped over a whole
kettle of soup in the fire OF course,
it made a terrible mess, and a
powerful lot of smoke and ashes
flew up the chimney. They like to
have checked that buzzard to death.
and they did cover him from head
to feet. .-~-~
When he got home he tried to
brush the SCOT and black off, but it
wouldn't brush off. And from that
day on he never spoke less he was
spoken to. and his head was black.
| And his chil'en and chil'en's chilen
have been jes like him. Now yo'
know why nah cousin who lives
down Souf has a black head con.
| cluded or Mistah Buzzard