Part 1 — XXXIII. DRY RIVER.

Once a man have t'ree daughter. Dem go go pick wacky.

When dem a come, dem come to a river having no water.

Dem meet a old man beg dem a wacky.

The two biggest one give the old man two wacky, one each, an' the little one wouldn' give any.

An' the old man sing:—

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You no give me one wacky you can't pass, You no give me one wacky you can't pass, You no give me one wacky you can't pass, Dry River will come an' take you 'way. Draw me nearer, Draw me near, Dry River will come an' take you 'way.

An' the little one won't give.

An' the two big sister want to give two more of their wacky to the old man; but the old man say:—"No, the little one must give me one of fe her wacky."

An' she won't give.

So the old man sing the sing again.

An' still the little one won't give, until at last the river come down carry him gone.

From that day people drowning.

Jack Mantora me no choose none.

NOTES.

In the heavy rains of October and May the rivers rise suddenly, and an insignificant stream or dry river-bed becomes a raging torrent. Travellers are delayed in the Seasons, as these rainy times are called, owing to the fords becoming impassable. This happens now less frequently than formerly, not because the rivers do not 'come down' but because many of them are bridged.

wacky (French a with a turn to o, almost "wocky"), guava. This fruit which makes the well-known jelly is wild. It is the size of a small apple, and has a delicious scent when ripe and yellow. Raw, however, it is not a good fruit. The flavour is coarse and the pulp is full of very hard seeds, which must be swallowed whole.

when dem a come, when they reach the place where the wackies are they come to a river.

old man beg, etc., old man who asks them for a wacky. Much of the conciseness of negro speech is due to the suppression of relatives and prepositions.

you no give, if you do not give.