NEGRO STORIES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 135, 13 March 1940, Page 6

NEGRO STORIES

ONE WAS SIMSON—NOT SAMSON 1 Annie Belle Koogle, beloved American friend of the Negroes, telKs some amusing stories about them. Here are a few. There was a Negress who could not write her name. The bank of the little city where she lived honoured her cheques signed Avith a cross. But one day she presented a cheque signed with a circle. On being asked for an explanation she said: "Well, I's jest got married, an' I changed my name." A Negro was running down the street when he was accosted by someone saying: "Eli, where are you going?" and the Negro answered: "Bess, I ain't gvvine nowhere; I'se jest leavin' where I was at.' Another Negro was called before the Court to tell what he knew about a shooting incident, "Now, Sam/' said the Judge, "state what you sasw and heard." "Well," replied the Negro, "when (ley started arguin , I began dancing backward. When dey got louder T cluin de fence. When dey started shooting I began grabbing for distance." A Negro was just starting on a new job in a warehouse. The foreman said to him; "Rastus, I want you to move all those bags of cement from here to that far corner." Rastus completed this back-break-ing job, and had hardly time to get his breath when the foreman snid: "Now I want all these drums of pitch piled over there." When the work was done the foreman continued: "Now 1 want every piece of tliis steampipe laid carefully up against that vtall/' At the end of Miat job,, as Rastus sank on to a barrel for a moment's rest, the foreman said: "Now. one more little thing before you go to lunch—just carry these few thousand feet of lumber into the next building." Unable to stand it any longer, Rastus turned to the foreman and exclaimed: "Say, boss, I jrr.id mjr name was Simson, not Spinson."