Status Updates From What They Say in New Englan...

"'...he tell Christ about the road he had come, an' how lonesome it was, and he ask Christ if that was really the road to heaven. "Hit was all grass-grown," he say. "Hit mus' be ve'y few ever go to heaven if that the road," he say. And Christ say, "Yes, that the road to heaven, but that not the only road. That jus' the road from East Tennessee."'" (257)

"All Mr. Rabbit's frien's come excep' Mr. Fox, an' bimeby he come too, but he was all limpy an' rasslefrassled." (247) RASSLEFRASSLED

"'I mighty glad he gone, too,' Mrs. Houston commented. 'De way he done trick Emline give me de worst scare I had since freedom.'" (223) saved by this having been collected in the late 19th century

"Another interesting freak is the supplementing the short sentences of the book with comments in this fashion:
The mason puts a layer of mortar between bricks. they dont [sic]
Intemperance is the grievious sin of our country. so it is
Boys like a warm fire in a wintery day. so do girles [sic]" (204)

"A ditty which was considered a fitting characterization to inscribe in the school histories was this:
If there should be another flood,
Then to this book I'd fly;
If all the earth should be submerged
This book would still be dry." (201)

"Sometimes a series of jingles was so arranged as to lead the reader on a wild goose chase. At the top of one of the early pages would be written:

If my name you wish to see look on page 103.

Turn to that page and you have:
If my name you cannot find look on page 109.

Again do as you are bidden, and you are rewarded with:
If my name you cannot find
Shut up the book and never mind." (201)

"The longest and most impressive of these incantations against possible purloiners was the following:
Whosoever steals this
Book away may
Think on that great
judgement day when
Jesus Christ shall
come and say
Where is that book
you stole away.
Then you will say
I do not know
and Christ will say
go down below." (199-200)

"Steal not this book my honest friend For fear the gallos [sic] will be your end
The gallos is high, the rope is strong, To steal this book you know is wrong." (199)

"Frequently the names were accompanied by verses such as:
Steal not this Book
For fear of Shame
For hear [sic] you read
The owners name
Asa Stebbins Book

If this book should chance to roam
Box its ears and send it home.

Steal not this book, for if you do,
Tom Harris will be after you.
Steal not this book for fear of strife
For the owner carries a big jackknife." (198) that last one would make a hell of a bookplate

"'Never carry a cat across running water if you want to have good luck. It will ruin your luck. You might just as well take a dose of deadly poison and be done with it.'" (188) that last sentence honestly applies to a lot of interactions with cats. especially if by luck you mean "not getting horribly scratched and bitten".

"To stop the hiccoughs see how near you can hold your little fingers together without their touching." (187) given that you would probably be holding your breath a bit as you did this, it just might work

"MRS. STOWE'S ORANGES
It is said that the year after Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin came out, all the oranges that grew in her Florida were black skinned. There was a good deal of joking in consequence, and the fruit was spoken of as 'abolition oranges.'" (176-177) that could have gone a whole lot worse

"Mississippi went to town,
Mississippi tore her gown;
All the women in the town
Couldn't mend Mississippi's gown.
What's that?
Answer: A butterfly.
The spelling of the butterfly in the conundrum is as it appears in the minds of those who do not know the answer. After the answer is given, the proper spelling seems to have been, Mrs. Sippi." (151) I still don't get this one

"A political couplet shouted by schoolboys:
Republican rats, take off your hats, And make way for the Democrats." (127) given that this was originally published in 1896 and collected before then, oy

"A verse said by a boy who parts from his companion in the evening:
Good-night,
Sleep tight,
Don't let the bedbugs bite." (127)

"A variation of this story is the following:
This little pig goes to market,
This little pig stays at home,
This little pig has plenty to eat,
This little pig has none,
This little pig says, 'Wee, wee, wee!' all the way home." (125)

"ANCIENT JOKE
First Person: Did you ever notice that when you get up in the morning it is always your left foot that you dress last?
Second Person: No; and I don't believe it is, either.
First Person: Well, whichever foot you dress first, the other must be the left one, mustn't it?
When this point has been made, it is proper that the company should laugh." (115)

"Monkey, monkey, bottle of beer,
How many monkeys have we here?
One, two, three, out goes he.
Wire, brier, limber, lock,
Six geese in a flock,
Two flew east,
Two flew west,
Two flew over the cuckoo's nest." (108-109) is that the origin of that book title?? An old counting rhyme?

"One old farmer commented on this statement with regard to the bee in this way, 'Oh, no! a bee doesn't lose his stinger when he stings half the time. When he does, and he gets back to the hive, the old king bee'll kill him, 'cause if he ain't got no stinger he can't help defend 'em any more.'" (105) what is it with this king bee nonsense? Second time in 2 weeks I've encountered it in books published 1896-1904

"If you meet with a lion or a mad bull, or anything of that kind, all you have to do is to look them right in the eye, and they won't touch you. If they do, that proves you did not properly catch the eye of the creature that charged you." (101) no true Scotslion

"The young woman who is fond of cats will be an old maid.
...
If a girl likes cats better than dogs, that is a sign she will never marry." (87) the cat lady archetype goes way back

"A boy out for a walk will sometimes count all the bows he gets from his friends, and make a cross for each one on a piece of paper that he carries for the purpose. Later he buries the paper. This is supposed to insure his finding as many dollars as he received bows." (72) I only realized this was "bow" as in "take a bow" and not "bow" as in "hair-bow" at the very end of this

"There is once in a while a man who, when he sneezes, says, 'God bless it,' that the sneeze may bring him good luck. If he hears someone else sneeze, he helps them to good luck by saying, 'God bless you.'" (61)

"Wear an eelskin around your waist to keep off rheumatism. Some say they had rather have the rheumatism." (49)

"Eat poison ivy, and it will never poison you afterward. When this remedy is mentioned, the comment usually is, 'Well, I guess it wouldn't. You wouldn't live to give it the chance.'" (48)

"When you and a companion are walking together, don't allow a third person to go between you. If you do, it will out your friendship. Nevertheless, if, in spite of precautions, this should happen, say, 'Bread and butter,' and the fates will be propitiated." (44)

"Sleep before midnight is 'beauty sleep.' Therefore if you wish to be handsome go to bed early." (43)

"Often when two persons make a bargain they at its conclusion 'Shake hands on it' to make it binding." (39) wild to see this shown up in a slew of other folkloric traditions that have not persisted as equivalently common at one point

"Eat the blossoms of three innocents, and the next person of the opposite sex that you meet will be the one you are to marry." (35) I beg your pardon?

"One might fancy, from the number of sayings and superstitions that can be readily picked up, that there was as yet no real folklore decadence." (6) I don't know that I've ever seen the word decadence used this way before, either