AMERICAN SLAVES

Experience
the SAME True Life Stories in

TWO SERIES OF BOOKS

The ORIGINAL Series
Paperbacks
in Southern Dialect
• • •
The TRANSLATED Series
eBooks
in Standard English
•••

So, you have a choice!

I WAS A SLAVE

These are the original words as dictated in southern dialect by a former slave in the PAPERBACK book series, I WAS A SLAVE.

in Southern Dialect:

GUS FEASTER: Lots of times, Newt and Anderson would tell me and John to come and git under de steps while Ol’ Marse was eating his supper. When he git up from de table, us li’l #######* would allus hear de sliding o’ his chair kaise he was sech a big fat man. Den he go into de missus’ room to set by de fire. Dar he would warm his feets and have his Julip. Quick as lightning, me and John scamper from under de steps and break fer de big cape jasamine bushes ’long de front walk. Dar we hide ’til Anderson and Newt come out a-fetching ham biscuit in dey hands fer us. It would be so full of gravy dat sometime de gravy would take and run plumb down to de end o’ my elbow and drap off ’fo’ I could git it licked off’n my wrists. Dem was de best rations dat a ######* ever had. When dey had honey on de white folks’ table, de boys never did fail to fetch a honey biscuit wid dem. Dat was so good dat I jest take one measley li’l bite of honey and melted butter on my way to de quarter. I would jest taste a leetle. When I git to Mammy, den me and Mammy set off to ourselfs and taste it ’til it done all gone.

*The actual word is used frequently in the I WAS A SLAVE books. It was spoken by these elders with no malice.

American Slaves

This is the translation of the previous excerpt from southern dialect into Standard English in the eBOOK series, American Slaves

in Standard English:

GUS FEASTER: A lot of the time [when he was a child], Newt and Anderson [the slave owner’s sons] told John [his older brother] and me to get under the steps while Old Master was eating his supper. When he left the table, we would hear the sliding of his chair because he was such a big fat man. Then, he would go into the mistress’ room and sit by the fire. There, he would warm his feet and have his julep [an alcoholic drink]. As quick as lightning, John and I would scamper from under the steps and run to the cape jasmine bushes along the front walk. We would hide there until Anderson and Newt came out. In their hands would be a ham biscuit full of gravy for us. Sometimes, there would be so much gravy that it would completely run down to the end of my elbow and drop off before I could get it licked off my wrists. That was the best food that a slave ever had. When they had honey on the white folks’ table, the boys never failed to carry a honey biscuit with them. It was so good! I took just one measly little bite of the honey and melted butter on my way to the quarters [the slave cabins]. I tasted only a little. When I reached Mama, she and I sat by ourselves and tasted it until it was gone.

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