§ 146 Without Professional Assistance
Reading edition
A lady who lives on a plantation in the southern part of Alabama went up to Birmingham on a visit. Upon her return an old negro man who occasionally did odd jobs for her dropped by to welcome her home and to tell her the news of the neighborhood.
“Whilst you wuz gone Aunt Mallie died,” he said. Aunt Mallie was a poor old black woman who lived in a tumbledown cabin half a mile away.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” said the white lady sympathetically. “How long was she sick?”
“Jes’ three or fo’ days,” he said.
“What ailed her?”
“They didn’ nobody know. One mawnin’ she up and fell sick and she kep’ on gittin’ wuss and wuss ’twel de fo’th day come and den, all of a suddenlak, she hauled off an’ died.”
“Who was the doctor?”
“She didn’ have no doctor—she died a natchel death!”