“I’m monst’us sorry. Daught ain’t here,” he began, “’cause she know’d the folks thess ez well ez I did; she’s been thar at the house an’ seed um. It thess come inter1 my min’ whilst we been a-settin’ here talkin’ ’bout ghostses an’ the like er that. Daught’s over yander settin’ up wi’ Mis Clemmons, an’ I wisht she wuz here. She know’d ’em all.
“Well, sir, it wuz in North Ca’liny, right nex’ ter the Ferginny line, whar we all cum frum. They wuz a fammerly thar by the name er Chambliss—Tom Chambliss an’ his wife—an’ they had a boy name John, in about ez peart a chap ez you ever set your eyes on. Arter awhile, Miss Chambliss, she took sick an’ died. Tom, he moped aroun’ right smartually, but ’twan’t long fo’ he whirled in an’ married agin. He went away off some’rs for to get his wife, the Lord knows whar, an’ she wuz a honey! She fussed so much an’ went on so that Tom, he took ter drink, an’ he went from dram ter dram tell he wern’t no manner account. Then she took arter John, the boy, an’ she thess made that child’s life miserbul a-doggin’ arter him all day long an’ half the night.
“One Sunday she fixed2 up an’ went ter church, arter tellin’ Johnny for to stay at home an’ keep the chickens outn’ the sallid-patch. She locked the door of the house before she went off an’ took the key wi’ ’er. It wuz right down coolish, but the sun wuz a-shinin’ an’ Johnny didn’t min’ the cold. Ther’ wuz a big white oak-tree in the yard, an’ he clum’ up that an’ crope out on a lim’ an’ got on top er the house, an’ sot up thar a straddle er the comb. He wuz a feeling mighty3 lonesome, an’ he didn’t know what ter do wi’ hisse’f skacely.
“I dunno how long he sot thar, but presently a great big acorn4 dropped on the roof—ker-bang! It wuz sech a big one an’ it fell so hard that it made Johnny jump. It fell on the roof ’bout half-way betwixt the comb an’ the eaves, an’ when Johnny looked aroun’ for to see what made the fuss he seed the acorn a-rollin’ up to’rds whar he wuz a-settin’. Yes, sir! stedder rollin’ down the roof an’ failin’ off on the groun’, the acorn come a-rollin’ up the shingles5 thess like it wuz down grade. Johnny grabbed it ez it come. He picked it up an’ looked at it good, an’ then turned it roun’ an’ ’roun’ for to see what kinder consarn it wuz that rolled up hill stedder rollin’ down hill. While he wuz a turnin’ the acorn aroun’ he spied a worm hole in it, an’ he was thess about ter break it open when he heard somebody callin’. It sounded like his stepmammy wuz a-callin’ ’im from a way off yander, an’ he answered back ‘Ma’am!’ thess ez loud as ever he could, an’ then he sot still an’ listened. Bimeby he heard the callin’ again, an’ he answered back: ‘Who is you, an’ whar is you?’ It seemed like then that he could hear somebody laughin’ at ’im some’rs. These here sounds sorter put ’im out, an’ he took an’ shot the acorn down the roof like it wuz a marvel6. Yit, before it could fall off, it seemed ter kinder ketch itself, an’ then it come a-rollin’ back to Johnny.
“This sorter made Johnny feel kinder creepy. He know’d mighty well that he didn’t have no loadstone in his pocket, an’ he couldn’t make no head ner tail to sech gwine’s on. He picked up the acorn an’ looked at it closeter than ever, an’ turned it ’roun’ an’ ’roun’ in his hand, an’ helt it right up to his eye. Whilst he was a-holdin’ it up that a-way he heard a little bit er voice ez fine ez a cambric needle, an’ it seem like it wuz a-singin’:
“Ningapie, Ningapie!
Why do you hol’ me at your eye?
Ningapie, Ningapee!
Don’t you know that you can’t see?
Ningapie, Ningapeer!
Why don’t you hol’ me to your ear?
0082
“Johnny didn’t know whether to laugh er cry, but he helt the acorn to his ear, an’ he heard sumpin’ er other on the inside holler out:
“‘Why don’t you hold my house so I can talk out’n my window?’
“‘I don’t see no window,’ says Johnny, sorter shakin’ a little, bekase the Watchermacollum talked like it was mad. ‘Is thish here worm-hole your window?’
“’Tooby shore it is,’ say the Whatshisname, ’it’s my window an’ my front door, an’ my peazzer.’
“‘But ef it wuzn’t big enough,’ say the—er—Watchermacollum, ‘I’d make it bigger.’
“‘What is your name?’ says Johnny.
“‘Ningapie.’
“‘It’s a mighty funny name,’ says Johnny. ‘Where did you come from?’
“‘Chuckalucker town.’
“‘That’s in the song,’ says Johnny.
“‘Me, too,” says Ningapie. ‘It’s in the song. Ain’t you never heard it?’
“Ningapie! Ningapan!
He up an’ killed the Booger Man!
Ningapie, Ningapitch!
‘He’s the one to kill a witch.’
“Johnny wuz so took up wi’ the talkin’ an’ the singin’ of the little feller in the acorn that he didn’t hear his stepmammy when she come, an’ when he did hear her he wuz that skeered that he shook like a poplar-leaf.
“‘Watch out!’ says the little chap in the acorn. ‘Watch out! Be right still. Don’t move. I want to show you sumpin’.’
“‘She’ll skin me alive,’ says Johnny.
“‘Thess wait,’ says the little chap. ‘If she calls you, keep right still.’
“Mis. Chambliss onlocked the door an’ went in the house, an’ slammed things down like she wuz mad. She flung the tongs8 down on the h’ath, slung9 the shovel10 in a corner, an’ sot a cheer back like she wuz tryin’ for to drive it thoo the wall. Then she began to jaw11.
“‘I’ll get ’im! Me a-tellin’ ’im to stay an’ min’ the sallid-patch, an’ he a-runnin’ off! Won’t I make ’im pay for it?’
“‘That’s me,’ says Johnny, an’ he talked like he wuz mighty nigh ready to cry.
“‘Thess wait!’ says the little chap in the acorn. ‘Keep right still!’
“Bimeby Mis. Chambliss come out’n the house an’ looked all aroun’. Then she called Johnny. She had a voice like a dinner-horn, an’ you moughter heard her a mile or more. Johnny he shook an’ shivered, but he stayed still. His stepmammy called an’ called, an’ looked ever’whar for Johnny exceptin’ in the right place. Then she went back in the house an’ presently she come out. She had a little spade in one hand an’ a little box in t’ other.
“‘Watch her!’ says the little chap in the acorn. ‘Keep your eye on her!’
“She went down in the gyarden an’ walked along tell she come to a Mogul plum-tree, an’ then she knelt down an’ begun to dig away at the roots of it. She dug an’ dug, and then she put the box in the hole an’ covered it up.
“‘Oho!’ says the little chap in the acorn. ‘Now you see whar she hides her money an’ your daddy’s money. Ever’body thinks your daddy has been a-throwin’ his money away, an’ thar’s whar it’s gone. I’ve been a-watchin’ her a long time.’
“‘I ain’t botherin’ ’bout the money,’ says Johnny. ‘I’m a-thinkin’ ’bout the frailin’ I’m gwine to git.’
“‘Well,’ says the little chap in the acorn, ‘when she goes to the spring for to fetch a bucket of water, put me in your pocket an’ climb down from here. Then go up the road a piece, an’ there you’ll see a red cow a-grazin’. Walk right up to her, slap her on the back, an’ say, “Ningapie wants you.” Fetch her home an’ tell your stepmammy that a stranger told you that you might have her ef you’d go an’ git her.’
“Shore enough, ’twan’t long before Mis. Chambliss come out’n the house an’ started to the spring for to git a bucket of water. She had done took an’ pulled off her Sunday-go-to-meetin’ duds, an’ she looked mighty scrawny in her calico frock. Time she got out’n sight Johnny put the acorn in his pocket an’ scrambled12 down to the groun’, an’ then he split off up the road ez hard ez ever he could go. He didn’t go so mighty fur before he seed a red cow feedin’ by the side of the road, an’ she wuz a fine cow, too, ez fat ez a butter-ball, an’ lookin’ like she mought be able for to give four gallons of milk a day an’ leave some over for the calf13 wharsoever the calf mought be. When she seed Johnny walkin’ right to’rds her, she raised her head an’ sorter blowed like cow creeturs will do, but she stood stock still tell Johnny come up an’ patted her on the back an’ says:
“‘Ningapie wants you.’
“Then she shook her head an’ trotted14 along at Johnny’s heels, an’ Johnny marched down the road a-swellin’ up wi’ pride tell he like to bust15 the buttons off’n his coat. When he got home his stepmammy wuz a-stan’in’ at the gate a-waitin’ for him wi’ a hickory, but when she seed the cow a-followin’ long behine him, she took an’ forgot all about the whippin’ she’d laid up.
“‘Why, Johnny!’ say she, ’whar in the wide world did you git sech a be-u-tiful cow?’”
In his effort to mimic16 a woman’s voice, Mr. Wall screwed up his mouth and twisted it around to such an alarming extent that Joe Maxwell thought for an instant the old man was going to have a spasm17. The lad laughed so heartily18 when he found out his mistake that Mr. Wall repeated his effort at mimicking19.
“‘Why, Johnny,’ say she, ‘whar in the wide world did you git sech a be-u-tiful cow?’
“Johnny, he up an’ tol’ his stepmammy what Ningapie tol’ ’im to say, an’ the ole’oman, she wuz e’en about ez proud ez Johnny wuz. She patted the cow on the back, an’ muched her up might’ly, an’ then she took her in the lot an’ got ready fer to milk her. Johnny felt the acorn a-jumpin’ about in his pocket, an’ he took it out an’ helt it up to his ear.
“‘Watch her when she goes to milk,’ says Ningapie.
“Johnny clumb the fence an’ waited. Thess ’bout the time his stepmammy begun fer to milk the cow good, a little black dog come a-rushin’ ’roun’ the yard a-barkin’ fit to kill. Time she heard ’im, the cow give a jump an’ come mighty nigh knockin’ ole Mis. Chambliss over. Time everything got quiet, here come a big pack of dogs a-chargin’ ’roun’ the lot-palin’s in full cry, an’ it look like to Johnny that the cow would shorely have a fit.
“When night come,” Mr. Wall continued, throwing another pine-knot into the fire, “Johnny got some milk for his supper, an’ then he went to bed. He helt the acorn to his ear for to tell the little chap good-night.
“‘Don’t put me on the shelf,’ says Ningapie, ’an’ don’t put me on the floor.’
“‘Why?’ says Johnny, in a whisper.
“‘Bekaze the rats might git me,’ says Ningapie.
“‘Well,’ says Johnny, ‘I’ll let you sleep on my piller.’
“Some time in the night Johnny felt sump’n run across the foot of his bed. He wuz wide awake in a minit, but he kept mighty still, bekaze he wuz skeer’d. Presently he felt sump’n jump up on his bed an’ run across it. Then it popped in his head about Ningapie, an’ he felt for the acorn tell he found it.
“‘Now’s your time,’ says Ningapie. ‘Git up an’ put on your clozes quick an’ foller the little black dog.’
“Johnny jumped up, an’ was ready in three shakes of a sheep’s tail, an’ he could hear the little black dog a-caperin’ aroun’ on the floor. When he started, he took the acorn in his han’. The door opened to let him out, an’ shot itse’f when he got out, an’ then the little black dog went trottin’ down the big road. It wuz dark, but the stars wuz a-shinin’, an’ Johnny could tell by the ell-an’-yard” (the constellation20 of Orion) “that it wuz nigh midnight.
“They hadn’t gone fur before they come to a big white hoss a-standin’ in the road, chompin’ his bit an’ pawin’ the groun’.
“‘Mount the hoss,’ says Ningapie.
“Johnny jumped on his back, an’ the hoss went canterin’ down the road. ’Twan’t long ’fore Johnny seed a light shinin’ in the road, an’ when he got a little nigher he seed it was right in the middle of the cross roads. A fire was a-blazin’ up thar, an’ who should be a-feedin’ of it but his stepmammy? Her hair wuz a-hangin’ down, an’ she looked like ole Nick hisse’f. She wuz a-walkin’ ’roun’ the blaze, a-mumblin’ some kinder talk, an’ a-makin’ motions wi’ her han’s, an’ thar wuz a great big black cat a-walkin’ ’roun’ wi’ her, an’ a-rubbin’ up agin her, and the creetur’s tail wuz swelled21 up out’n all reason.
“‘Watch out, now,’ says Ningapie, ’an''hold on to your hoss.’
woods an’ made right for the ole’oman, an’ Johnny’s hoss a-fol-lerin’
it looked like ’oman, dogs, an’ all riz up in the elements, an’ thar wuz
sech another yowlin’ an’ howlin’ an’ growlin’ ez ain’t never been heard
in them parts before nor sence.
“When Johnny got back home he found his pappy a-waitin’ for him, an’ he looked like a new man. Then they went down into the gyarden, an’ thar they foun’ a pile of gold packed up in little boxes. Ez for the ole’oman, she never did come back. She wuz a witch, an’ Ningapie unwitched her.”
“And what become of the acorn?” asked Joe Maxwell.
“Ah, Lord!” said Mr. Wall, with a sigh, “you know how boys is. Like ez not, Johnny took an’ cracked it open wi’ a hammer for to see what kind of a creetur Ningapie wuz.”
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1
inter
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| v.埋葬 | |
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2
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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3
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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4
acorn
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| n.橡实，橡子 | |
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5
shingles
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| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
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6
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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7
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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8
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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9
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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10
shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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11
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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12
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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13
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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14
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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15
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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16
mimic
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| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
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17
spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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18
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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19
mimicking
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| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似 | |
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20
constellation
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| n.星座n.灿烂的一群 | |
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21
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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22
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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23
chunks
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| 厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分 | |
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