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t Riahi: ~ ~ t 1~Tit Laughter‘ s clothes ‘gun ~ to look oie ‚ but grantm~i.mmy kept dem washed an‘ sta‘ched stiff. ‘Twas Mis‘ Laughter dat kep‘ us from frettin‘ too much. She would look at Mi‘ RIah an‘ say ‚ ‘ 11 be all right ‚ i~mmy ‚ when Marse Ned comes hönie.‘ Sometime she call her pappy Marse N~d ~jUS‘ like dat . One day Mars e Ned did come home . Dey brurzg him. home . ‚ Twas ‘bout sunset . I tmembers kaze ‚ twas de same day dat my oie black hen hatched de duck eggs I done set her on, an‘ de apple treed was bloomin‘. De blooms look jus‘ like droves of pink butterflies flyin‘ on de sky. Dey brought Marse Ned. frL de hoûse anr Ia~Ö. him. out in de parlor. Mis‘ ‘Riali. stood

~AI~h~~1de him wid her head up. ‘TWas de Lawd‘~s will, she to le Gran.‘ rnar‘~y ‚ but an‘ mammy sho ok her head an ‚ gun to cry, an‘ say: ryOu can‘ t put dat on de Lawd ‚ i‘ ‚ Riah,~ you sho can‘t~ . tTwaaat de Lawd‘s will a tall, ‘twas de will of de cnssed Yankees.T Den she turn ~roun‘ an‘ took Mis‘ Laughter‘s hand an‘ led her up stairs an‘ put her to bed. ~

	After dat things got wo rs e . Dat wind dat blew tr~ub1e dowii de chinthley for Mist Riah when she was bawn ‘gun to blow barder. De war got young Marse ~Terorzie an‘ shot him down. Dey wom‘ t much to eat ‚ de coffe e was made ou~t of pa J‘~hed cawn an‘ de ~weeth.i~ was cane lasses, an~ de ham. anr white bread done been goné a long time . Dey won ‘t no eggs an‘ chickens ‚ an ~ dey ~L‘t: ~xt one fresh cows bu~t nobody ai&t never seed MiS‘ ~ ‘~Riah

herh~ádziorshed atear.	~ ‚ ~