šš¤The Black Snake That Refused to Talkš¤š
A slave named John is a reoccurring character in African-American folktales, especially within the antebellum period. The characterās role in a story can range from a witty man to a fool. In this particular story a snake teaches John the value of just shuttin tf up.
John was exhausted from fishin and took a nap in his fishin spot. When he woke from it he heard his name bein called. Behold it was a talkin snake, black as night. The snake musta been lonely cuz it said to the John, āI just wanna be sociable. We both black aināt we? You might as well say we kin.ā But John was so shook he ran back to tell his boss bout this snake. His boss wanted to see it wit his own eyes, & hear it wit his own ears so John led him back to the snake. When the snake saw em the snake aināt said nan. John Boss shook his head, āYou let me down, John.ā He said. When he left John got down to the snake askin āWhy you make me out to be a liar?ā The snake said, āJohn, you let me down. I spoke only witchu and you had to go and tell a white man.ā
ā¼ļøI pulled this from a JSTOR article by Willam Bascom āAfrican Folktales in America: Iā. Within it are various versions of the story.ā¼ļø










