Page 34 - 4 Stories from the New Book by Helen Creighton

ISSUE : Issue 65

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1994/1/1

him. "You was bad when you was up there at the Lower End Cove." Well then my mother was dead for four years. Donelly told me, "Come over and see your mother, where she's at." Well she was laying down alongside a big heater, like that, and she was sweating herself with the heat, and there was a little girl, I'd say she was about four years old. When I went into the place she was, the little girl stand up on her • stand up and started talking to me. And I asked my mother, "What took you here?" "Well," she says, "I'm here in Hades to serve seven year, and when I've served the seven year," she says, "I'U get my freedom to get out." And I went • "I'd do anything to get you out of here." I pitied her where she was laying down there. I went over to the big devil was on a big chain. A big iron floor and a big chain rubbed his leg, and every link was about four or five inches through and a big horn from his forehead sticking out like that, going up in the air. I says, "Look, Mister, you let go of that • do you know the woman you got in there?" "I know her very well," he said. "That's your mother." "Can you let her out?" "No," he says, "I'm keeping her here," he says, "for three more years and I'm letting her clear," he says. "She'll get her free? dom." I woke up. I was sleeping in a bed at home. That's the end of the story. Question: How long ago was it that you dreamt it? Answer: Oh, it was about twenty-three or -four years. Collected August 1961. The Mouse with the Long Tail (Souris a grand t'cheu) AN ACADLW TALE TOLD BY LAURA McNEIL, WEST PUBNICO, N.S. A CAT HIRED A MOUSE to spin her yarn and she said, "If you haven't finished by tonight I'll cut your long tail off" When night came the mouse who had spun all day hadn't finished, so the cat said, "I'm going to cut your long tail." So she cut the tail and the mouse started to wail, "Give me back my long tail, give me back my long tail, give me back my long tail," and the cat said, "I shan't give you back your tail unless you give me some milk," so the mouse went to the cow and said, "Cow, cow, cow, give me some milk so I can give it to the cat and the cat will give me back my tail," but the cow said, "I won't give you any milk unless you get me some hay," so the mouse went to the barn and said, "Barn, barn, barn, give me some hay so I can give it to the cow so the cow will give me milk to take to the cat so I can get my long tail back." The barn said, "I won't give you any hay unless you unlock me," so the mouse went to the blacksmith to have a key made and she said, "Blacksmith, blacksmith, blacksmith, give me a key so I can imlock the barn to get some hay to give the cow so the cow will give me milk to take to the cat so that the cat will give me back my long tail," and the blacksmith said, "I won't give you a key imless you give me a feather (quill),'' so the mouse went to the eagle and said, "Eagle, eagle, eagle, give me a feather so that I can give it to the blacksmith so the blacksmith will make me a key so that I can Laura McNeil and children playing, 1947 WE BUY AND WE SELL AND WE'RE AS NEAR AS YOUR TELEPHONE Sid's Used Furniture Phone 564-6123 436 Charlotte Street, Sydney imlock the barn so that the barn can give me hay for the cow so the cow will give me milk so I can give the milk to the cat and the cat will give me back my long tail," but the eagle said, "I won't give you a feather imtil you give me a litde pig," so the mouse went to the mother pig and she said, "Sow, sow, sow, give me a little pig so I can give it to the ea? gle so that the eagle will give me a feather so that the blacksmith will give me a key so that I can imlock the barn so that the barn will give me hay so that the cow will give me milk for the cat and the cat will give me back my long tail," but the sow said, "I won't give you a litde pig imless you get me some pota? toes," so the mouse went to the cellar and said, "Cellar, cellar, cellar, give me some potatoes so I can give them to the sow so the sow will give me a little pig so I can give it to the eagle so the eagle will give me a feather for the blacksmith so the blacksmith will give me a key to unlock the barn and then the barn will give me hay for the cow and then the cow will give A Pioneer Company ROBIN'S • NOW 228 YEARS OLD • ROBIN, JONES & WHITMAN, INC. [ The company was founded around 1766 by the Robin fanii-1 ly from the islands of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel. These French-speaking immigrants to Arichat and Cheticamp supplied the local fishermen with their ba? sic necessities and took the fishermen's catch to markets around the world. Robin's have evolved to include furni? ture, hardware, bulding supplies, and groceries. I CAPE BRETON TRAILER SALES Trans Canada Highway Bras d'Or ~ YOUR DEPENDABLE TRAILER DEALER - 544-0157

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