Go Tell It on the Mountain

by James Baldwin

“I wish you’d tell me just how you think we’s going to live all week on a turkey and five pounds of coffee?” “Honey, I ain’t bought nothing we didn’t need!” She sighed in helpless fury, and felt tears springing to her eyes. “I done told you time and again to give me the money when you get paid, and let me do the shopping—’cause you ain’t got the sense that you was born with.” “Baby, I wasn’t doing a thing in the world but trying to help you out. I thought maybe you wanted to go somewhere tonight and you didn’t want to be bothered with no shopping.” “Next time you want to do me a favor, you tell me first, you hear? And how you expect me to go to a show when you done brought this bird home for me to clean?”