The boy
thus became well acquainted with many of the animal fables known to the
negroes of Georgia. Later in life, he heard a great many more of these
tales, while traveling through the cotton states, swapping yarns with the
negroes after he had gained their confidence. His knowledge of their
hesitancy about telling a story and his sympathy with them made it possible
for him to hear rare tales when another would probably have found only
silence. Sometimes, while waiting for a train, he would saunter up to a
group of negroes and start to tell a story himself and soon have them on
tiptoe to tell him one that he did not already know. In many ways he became
the possessor of a large part of the negro folklore. He loved a story and
he early commenced to write down these fables, making of them such
delightful works of art that all America is his debtor, not only for thus
preserving the folklore of a primitive people in their American
environment, but also for the genuine pleasure derived from the stories
themselves. They are related with such humor, skill, and poetic spirit that
they almost challenge comparison with Kipling's tales of the jungle. The
hero is the poor, meek, timid rabbit, but in the tales he becomes the
witty, sly, resourceful, bold adventurer, who acts "sassy" and talks big.
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