de ole lady she ’gun ter moanin’ an’ takin’ on tur’bl’, she did, an’ de Langshan he settin’ up cluckin’ an’ quoilin’ tell nobody can’ heah der own ye’rs. Dey darsn’t ter drive ’im out—nor suh, eb’n de und’r tak’r skeerd ter do dat, so ’tain’t long ’fo’ dat ole Langshan chick’n boss ev’ythin’ on de farm. Yas suh, I tell yer, Abe an’ dat ole ’oman act scand’lous ter dat chickin. De ole lady, she love hit, but Abe, he jes nachelly skeer’d er de hant. Dey nuv’r raise sich er crap b’fo’, ’caze dat rooster scratchin’ all ov’r de fiel’, an’ Abe[Pg 48] say he know whut you doin’ wheth’r he lookin’ at yer er not.

[Pg 48]

“Ev’y time Langshan ’ud speak sof’ ter de hens, Miss Gully’d holl’r ter Abe, ‘Yer marst’r want some fresh wat’r, run quick,’ Whinsomev’r Langshan’d crow, she run an’ git him mo’ vit’als. Oh, I tell yer dem dominicker hens whut kep’ comp’ny wid him sholy got fat an’ lazy eatin’ all day an’ doin’ nuthin’ but cacklin’ conversation wid him. An’ dey’s er heap er fokes in dis town too, dat doan do no mo’ dan dem hens does.”

“Did the children call Langshan papa?” interrupted Willis.

“Nor, darlin’, dem boys doan b’leef in hants, an’ dey tell dey ma dat de rooster jes foolin’ her, but she crack ’em crost de haid wid de broom stick, an’ dey darsn’t say so no mo’.

[Pg 49]“Long ’bout Chris’mus time Miss Gully wus took down wid de rumatiz. She can’t lif’ er finger, let lone git up, so she tell Abe ter bring de ole man up in de house. Yas suh, dat rooster strut hissef all ov’r dat house. He peck at hissef in de lookin’ glass, an’ he light up on de pianny in de parler; he fly up on de baid an’ peck Miss Gully’s nose, an’ she tell Abe de ole Man’s lovin’ her. Hit sho’ wus cur’us ’bout dat rooster, caze ev’y time de doct’r come, he hop up on de foot er de baid an’ cluck, an’ cluck tell de doct’r git up an’ go. One day de doct’r tell Miss Gully she gwine die. She sorter cry ’bout hit er spell, den she sont fur de ole man’s hant. Abe he go an’ shoo de roost’r in de room, but he can’t make him fly on de baid. Abe he tiptoe an’ wave his han’s sof’ like b’hime him, but de rooster[Pg 50] run und’r de baid an’ cackle, an’ cluck, an’ make so much fuss dat de boys wanter run him out, but Miss Gully say he talkin’ ter her. She answer back ter him, ‘Yas, suh,—dat’s right,—yas, suh, I’m gwine do jes like you says.’ She keep er gwine on dat erway er long time, tell bimeby she tell Abe ter go git lawyer Clark ter make her er will. She say de ole man say she got ter give him all de money, dat de chillun’ll spen’ hit ef she don’t. De lawyer argufy wid her 

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