~X~ß1aYę Stories	Page Two	~
(Texas)






tc‘ keep ~LS three chilleA in de cabin, my sis and brudder and me. Well, In


dein days, us uses tallow candles for light ~nd pine knot8 when candles ~ short. Me.mmy lights de pine knot be~ot she leaves and~ after she aa gone, it fa~11s off de hoik ~nd hits de gr~.ind and rolls a couple feet under de bunk. There am straw in de tick and right off de whole shebang am on fire. There am three of us with de do~,r latch and ail de grown-.ups in de ceok shed. Us hollers and yells but lt a~ no use, and de hol].erin~ don‘t last long, ‘cause de smoke gittint thick. De fire am spreadin‘ fast and de bunks starts burnin‘.

Us am huddle togedder, skeert plumb c~it our wits and chokin‘ and coughin‘.

“Den my brudder ~it~ de idea and he grabs de big spoon and de iron

poker and starts diggin‘ de dirt from under de log next de door, De smoke aintt so bad next de ground, and did yous ever see de dog diggin‘ in de rabbit hole? Dat howus digs, and seems it never gi~ne come a hole. Finally, e hole bust ed through ~nd lets in fresh ait ‚ ~ ~nd den us dig some more, and it am big ‘nough for ay little sis to craw]. through. Den us dig some more and I crawls out and my brudder starte bat he gits he head outside and his shoulders wedges and there he am, stucked. Us pull and pull, but na~ a inch cxild us budge hirn. He try to back up b~it he shirt caught on a knc~ and he can ‚ t do, dat.

So us rujns for de cook shed and yells, ‘Mammy, de cabin on fire. ~ Everybody start s t o holler ‚ ‚ 7~re, ‚ and mammy bust s in de door and yrniks br~tdder out dat hole, and he am sweatin‘ like a latherin‘ mare. After dey puts de fire out with de water buckets, mammy s~r ‚ ‘~/~en sie gits out, why dldn ‘t she unlatch de door? ‚ ‚ Cause de ~ citement, us never think of dat ~
‚s Us have plenty hawg meat and veg‘ tables and butter and ‚ lasses and