The Dumb Wife

Thomas White, Maroon Town.

Deh was a man name of Goolin. He had a wife. He married him wife fe so many years dat de wife turned dummy,—she couldn’t speak to nobody. An’ Mr. Goolin reward out a certain amount of money, if anyone could make him wife talk, he would pay dem dat amount of money. Anansi hear about it an’ go to take up de job from Mr. Goolin. Anansi says if he had a mountain groun’, an’ Mr. Goolin says yes. An’ Mr. Anansi an’ Mr. Goolin go up to de mountain groun’ an’ Mr. Anansi tell Mr. Goolin he mus’ get a coffin made an’ send get up some men to carry de coffin. An’ Mr. Anansi sen’ tell de wife dat Mr. Goolin dead; an’ when de message reach Mrs. Goolin dat her husband dead, Mrs. Goolin commence to cry; an’ when she look an’ see de amount of men goin’ up to de mountain fe gwine carry down Mr. Goolin, de wife was crying but she couldn’t talk. An’ Anansi come down wid Mr. Goolin, an’ dey hev’ to come down a high hill, an’ de house was upon a flat before de hill. Well, Mrs. Goolin da in de house, she hear de great noise was coming down de hill an’ come jus’ at de house door, she come an’ stan’ up an’ look out an’ see de majority of men comin’. Anansi gi’ out,

“Goolin gone, t’de-e-e, Goolin gone, Goolin gone, Goolin gone home t’de-e-e!”

An’ when de wife hear dat mournful singin’ de wife sing now very faintly,

“Goolin gone, t’de-e-e, Goolin gone, Goolin gone, Goolin gone home t’de-e-e!”

An’ when Goolin hear he say, “Sing up, man!” Anansi sing,

“Goolin gone t’de-e-e, Goolin gone, Goolin gone, Goolin gone home t’de-e-e!”

An’ wife sing now,

“Goolin gone, t’de-e-e, Goolin gone, Goolin gone, Goolin gone home t’dee-e-e!”

So Mr. Anansi tek out Mr. Goolin out of de coffin as a live man, an’ Mr. Goolin an’ him wife was talking up to t’-day.