Cape Breton's Magazine

Joseph D Samson Tells an Old Tale The following story was collected from Mr. Samson in French by Lois Samson Burns; later, he told it to us in English. There are differences, and it is worthwhile reading them both. The English should not be considered a direct translationT Ceci c'ai trois hommes qu'asseya a se mette'fort assez pour passer a travers de I'univers sans faire autchin de bruit. Ca fa y'en ava yain qui s'appela Brise-Montin, pi 1'autre Brise-Bois, pi Brise-Fer. Brise- Fer lui, y'avait vu a sa mere pour sept ains avant qui s'aviang decide de prende le bois dang pi aller ouaire quoi-ce qui pouviang trouver--toutes sortes d'affaires qui pouyang racontres dans le bois pour les arreter. Ca fa y'avait eu une fille, la fille du roi, ava ete vole par une bete. Y'appelions ca la Bete a Sept Tetes. Et pi alle ava ete vole pi le roi offra tain d'argeain pour pouaire la trouver, ou beh sa fille en mariage a n'importe tchi ce qui pouva la delivrer. C'ta pour 9a la plus grand partie qui charchiang--ouaire si y I'arrions trouvee. Y partirent pi y marchirent jusqu'a tains qui trouvirent ain trou qu'alla sous la terre. Quand qui m'nurent rendu la, y'ap- par9urent qui ava pas de fang et pi y'ava pas de way qui pouviang descende dans le trou. Ca fa Brise-Fer dit aux autres, y dit, "La seule way que j'pourrang descende dans I'trou, yain de nous autes, ca sera d'aller pour ain panier pi ain cordage pi j'en enouairons yain dans le trou pi les deux autres resterons sur le trou ah beh, j'1'enouairrons en haut si a per cas qui a tcheque a faire qui va on que tu peut pas descende." ('a fa Brise-Montin pi Brise- Bois partirent pi y s'en furent a la ville. Y'emportirent ain panier grin assez pour It's a long story, and it's a story that makes sense in a way, and no sense. (Do you enjoy these stories?) Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah. But I don't tell them, because there's nobody here to tell them, see. (People) don't seem to be interested any more. I've still got it in my mind just the same, though, just the same, like they were told to me. Just learned them by go? ing somewhere where they were telling those stories, just hearing them, picked them up word by word. They were all in French. (Does the story have a name?) No, I never heard a name about it. The way it went, it was 3 guys, it was 3 giants (Brise-Montin, Brise-Bois, Brise-Fer; ...Mountain, ... Tree, ...Iron). And they were good and strong, but they wanted to build them? selves stronger so they could fight their way right through the world, with nobody would bother them. They could have been the king of everything. Animals, as well as the rest. So, that's the way that it's supposed to start. Those 3 guys, they were supposed to be aw? ful strong. Well, they took a walk in the woods to try themselves how good and strong they were. So, they all were strong, but they didn't feel they were strong e- nough to do what they wanted to do. So they came back home and they stayed home for 7 years. They were supposed to be CONTINUED NEXT PAGE Acadian Vocabulary: autchin: aucun; tain: tant; enouairons: enverrons; handler: prendre; abbarque: embar- que; motche: moitie; trein: bruit; wild: sauvage; reins: rends; tawasser: faites sur; maudixe a la well: toutes sortes de choses; ouayons: voient; mouchoue: mouchoir; fa: haut; s'emna: s'en venait; feederai: nourrirai; proof: preuve; cu-ya: celui. ??(55)