Mexican Border Ballads and Other Lore Page: 83
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MEXICAN BORDER BALLADS
"John, you thievin' rascal," he said, "these aren't possums,
they're chickens."
"Says dey is, Boss, says dey is," replied John. "Well, dey
wuz possums when Ah put 'em in dere, if dey's chickens now
Ah'm gonna th'ow 'em away."
John and His Boss-man's Watermelon Patch
Some of the plantation owners in the neighborhood gave
their hands an acre of land to raise vegetables, corn and
watermelons on, but Colonel Clemons was so mean that he
would not let John and the other hands raise any food at
all for themselves. He wanted them to buy everything at
his commissary.
So it was hard for Colonel Clemons's hands to get a water-
melon even in watermelon season. He wouldn't let them have
any from his own patch, and he wouldn't give them any money
to buy them from other plantations. So John secretly visited
the Colonel's patch once or twice a week and took several
melons home. David and Joseph, his little boys, always went
with him and helped him bring them down to the cabin.
This had been going on for three years now and the Colonel
hadn't caught up with them. But one Saturday evening when
he was returning from town, he saw John and the little boys
leaving his watermelon patch. Each had a mellon on each
shoulder. The Colonel rode up to them and stopped his horse.
"I've been missing a lot of watermelons out of my patch
lately," he said to John. "Lots of tracks lead up this way,
and it seems like those watermelons you have may be mine,
you thievin' rascal."
"Things ain't always what dey seems, Boss," replied John.
"Well," said the Colonel, "you are coming from the direc-
tion of my patch."
"What direction got to do wid a hones' man?" answered
John.
The Colonel was so outdone with John's reply that he
headed his horse toward the Big-house and went on home.
How John Learned To Count
Besides his work in the fields, John fed the hogs and other
stock on the plantation. The Colonel often scolded him for83
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Mexican Border Ballads and Other Lore (Book)
Collection of popular folklore from Mexico and Texas, including ballads, personal anecdotes, folktales of the Alabama-Coushatta Indians and other miscellaneous legends. The index begins on page 141.
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Boatright, Mody C. Mexican Border Ballads and Other Lore, book, 1946; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc67652/m1/91/: accessed May 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.