Part 1 — XXXV. COW AND ANNANCY.

One day Annancy was passing Cow pastur', saw the whole of them was cleaning their teeth with chewstick.

He was so frighten for Cow, he stay outside the pastur' on a tree an' call to Cow, telling them howdy.

Cow never answer him, so he get worser frighten.

He said to himself:—"If I give them piece of cane, fool them say it is my chewstick, they might a come friend with me."

So Cow them go out in the night to feed.

An' when them gone Annancy go an' get his side-bag full with cane as quick as he can. An' when him come Cow them gone away for the whole night, so he climb the tree an' sleep on the tree until daylight.

An' when the sun begin to hot the Cow come under the tree fe throw up their food fe eat it back. Same time Cow cleaning him teeth with the chewstick.

Presently the papa Cow see a big piece of something drop out of the tree.

He look up see Annancy, call to him:—"What you doing dé?"

Annancy say:—"Me bring piesh a chewshtick fe you."

Cow take up the cane begin to chew. Instead of cleaning teeth he was swallowing both juice an' trash.

Cow say:—"Him sweet; you no hab no more dé now?"

Annancy say "Yes."

Cow call him down from the tree.

When he come down he give everybody piece of the cane, tell them that it is fe him chewstick.

During this time he have a big bottle of cane-juice, ask Cow if him want a taste.

Cow take a taste, he done the whole bottle of it.

So they all get in friend with Annancy.

An' Annancy invite Cow to go home with him, an' he will show him where he get such good chewstick.

Cow say:—"You no have nobody a you yard."

Annancy say "Yes."

Cow say:—"Me shame fe go."

Annancy say:—"Make me go home an' sen' dem 'way."

Annancy go home, tell all his friend them must look out, him going to fetch Cow, ya.

Them say:—"If you bring Cow you we will never trust you the longest day we live."

Annancy say:—"Look out."

He take a rope. When he go back he tell Cow that him no see nobody a yard, so Cow must come make dem go.

Cow say, "Yes."

Them 'tart.

Annancy tell Cow that as he is such a coward man him have a piece of rope, Cow must make him put it on his neck, afraid a when him a go the picny them go see him, go make noise, you go turn back.

Annancy say: "Bro'er Cow, when you go near me yard, if you yerry them picny a make noise no frighten, fan you tail with strength."

When them get to where all the friend an' children could see him, him call to them:—"A da come, no see me frien' a come tell you howdy." He turn to Cow said:—"Fan you tail, no min' dem people."

At last them reach the yard.

Annancy have a big tree at the front of his house. He tell Cow:—"Bro'er Cow, stay ya, make me go look after the house; me wife no know, say me a bring 'tranger ya, so we can't carry you in so, so you can fan you tail as much."

During this time Annancy gone to get all his tool sharpen to kill Cow. He left his biggest son to watch Cow but he can't trust the boy. Every minute he come to look if Cow is there.

The first time he come an' look he say to Cow:—"Fan you tail."

When the thing them nearly done sharp he come back, see Cow was fanning his tail.

He said to Cow:—"You Cow, you no yerry me say 'No fan you tail a me yard?'"

Cow fan fe the better.

He come with his bill, said to Cow:—"If you no 'top fan you tail either you kill me or me kill you."

Cow won't stop.

He say to one of the friend:—"Now, now, sir, you see how that man a frighten me picny a me yard, him mout' so hugly."

Him come up nearer to Cow say:—"If you no 'top fan you tail somet'ing mus' done."

Cow won't stop, seeing the fly a trouble him.

Annancy set a run with his bill chop at Cow neck.

Cow draw back his head, the bill catch the rope, set Cow free, so he run for his life.

Annancy say:—"Come back, Bro'er Cow, a fun me a make wi' you, simple little fun, you run gone home."

But Cow was flying for his home an' never stop.

Annancy take up this song:—

[Listen] [XML]

Lard! Lard! hasty kill me dead oh! Poor me boy oh! a whé me a go do? Me put me pot a fire fe boil Cow liver, but hasty kill me dead.

From that day Annancy never can go where Cow is.

Anywhere Cow see him he reach him down with his mouth.

Jack Mantora me no choose any.

NOTES.

We have had this story already in another form (Annancy and Cow, No. 20).

chewstick, a common climber. A piece of the stem about the thickness of a pencil is cut and makes a sort of soapy froth as it is chewed. It has an agreeable bitter taste and is used to clean the teeth.

howdy, how do you do?

cane, sugar-cane.

fool them, take them in, delude.

side-bag. Everybody has his side-bag or namsack (knapsack).

papa, pronunciation something between puppa and poppa, with slight accent on the first syllable. Cows in Jamaica are of both sexes.

dé there; the e is that of "debt" lengthened. French "est" gives it exactly. Whé has the same e.

trash, the fibre. Trash is any kind of refuse, such as shells of peas, husks of maize, the remains of Cassada after the starch is washed out, withered banana leaves, the outside pulp which encloses the coffee beans, etc., etc.

ya sometimes means here, sometimes do you hear?

rope, pronounced ro-up. So gate becomes gé-ut (French é), goat, go-ut (Italian o), much as in some provincial districts in England.

a da come, I am coming.

carry, lead.

as much, as much as you like.

a fun me a make, I was pretending. A man is said to make fun when he is only pretending to work, what schoolboys call "sugaring."

hasty, haste, i.e. your hurrying away.

hungry kill me is a common expression meaning "I am very hungry." Here hasty is substituted for hungry. Your hasting away will leave me without food, and hunger will kill me.