Notes

We have had this story already in another form (Annancy and Cow, No. 20).

chewstick, a common climber. A piece of the stem about the thickness of a pencil is cut and makes a sort of soapy froth as it is chewed. It has an agreeable bitter taste and is used to clean the teeth.

howdy, how do you do?

cane, sugar-cane.

fool them, take them in, delude.

side-bag. Everybody has his side-bag or namsack (knapsack).

papa, pronunciation something between puppa and poppa, with slight accent on the first syllable. Cows in Jamaica are of both sexes.

dé there; the e is that of "debt" lengthened. French "est" gives it exactly. Whé has the same e.

trash, the fibre. Trash is any kind of refuse, such as shells of peas, husks of maize, the remains of Cassada after the starch is washed out, withered banana leaves, the outside pulp which encloses the coffee beans, etc., etc.

ya sometimes means here, sometimes do you hear?

rope, pronounced ro-up. So gate becomes gé-ut (French é), goat, go-ut (Italian o), much as in some provincial districts in England.

a da come, I am coming.

carry, lead.

as much, as much as you like.

a fun me a make, I was pretending. A man is said to make fun when he is only pretending to work, what schoolboys call "sugaring."

hasty, haste, i.e. your hurrying away.

hungry kill me is a common expression meaning "I am very hungry." Here hasty is substituted for hungry. Your hasting away will leave me without food, and hunger will kill me.