Diddie, Dumps Tot | Page 5

one corner of the
nursery, and the children were so excited and so happy that she could
hardly get them to bed at all; but after a while Tot's blue eyes began to
droop, and she fell asleep in Mammy's arms, murmuring, "De booful
itty doggie."
"De booful itty doggies," however, did not behave very well; they cried
and howled, and Dumps insisted on taking hers up and rocking him to
sleep.
"Hit's er gittin' so late, honey," urged Mammy, "let 'um stay in de box,
an' go ter bed now, like good chil'en."
"I know I ain't, Mammy," replied Dumps. "You mus' think I ain't got no
feelin's ter go ter bed an' leave 'im hollerin'. I'm er goin' ter rock 'im ter
sleep in my little rockin'-cheer, an' you needn't be er fussin' at me
nuther."
"I ain't er fussin' at yer, chile; I'm jes' visin' uv yer fur yer good; caze
hit's yer bedtime, an' dem puppies will likely holler all night."
"Then we will sit up all night," said Diddie, in her determined way.
"I'm like Dumps; I'm not going to bed an' leave 'im cryin'."
So Mammy drew her shawl over her head and lay back in her chair for

a nap, while Diddie and Dumps took the little dogs in their arms and sat
before the fire rocking; and Chris and Dilsey and Riar all squatted on
the floor around the fender, very much interested in the process of
getting the puppies quiet.
Presently Dumps began to sing:
"Ef'n 'ligion was er thing that money could buy, O reign, Marse Jesus,
er reign; De rich would live, an' de po' would die, O reign, Marse Jesus,
er reign.
_Chorus._
O reign, reign, reign, er my Lord, O reign, Marse Jesus, er reign: O
reign, reign, reign, er my Lord, O reign, Marse Jesus, er reign.
But de Lord he 'lowed he wouldn't have it so, O reign, Marse Jesus, er
reign; So de rich mus' die jes' same as de po', O reign, Marse Jesus, er
reign."
This was one of the plantation hymns with which Mammy often used to
sing Tot to sleep, and all the children were familiar with the words and
air; so now they all joined in the singing, and very sweet music it was.
They had sung it through several times, and the puppies, finding
themselves so outdone in the matter of noise, had curled up in the
children's laps and were fast asleep, when Diddie interrupted the chorus
to ask:
"Dumps, what are you goin' ter name your doggie?"
"I b'lieve I'll name 'im 'Papa,'" replied Dumps, "because he give 'im ter
me."
"'Papa,' indeed!" said Diddie, contemptuously; "that's no name for a
dog; I'm goin' ter name mine after some great big somebody."
"Lord-ee! I tell yer, Miss Diddie; name 'im Marse Samson, atter de man
w'at Mammy wuz tellin' 'bout totin' off de gates," said Dilsey.

"No yer don't, Miss Diddie; don't yer name 'im no sich," said Chris;
"le's name im' Marse Whale, w'at swallered de man an' nuber chawed
'im."
"No, I sha'n't name him nothin' out'n the Bible," said Diddie, "because
that's wicked, and maybe God wouldn't let him live, just for that; I
b'lieve I'll name him Christopher Columbus, 'cause if he hadn't
discovered America there wouldn't er been no people hyear, an' I
wouldn't er had no father nor mother, nor dog, nor nothin': an', Dumps,
sposin' you name yours Pocahontas, that was er _beau-ti-ful_ Injun girl,
an' she throwed her arms 'roun' Mr. Smith an' never let the tomahawks
kill 'im."
"I know I ain't goin' to name mine no Injun," said Dumps, decidedly.
"Yer right, Miss Dumps; now yer's er talkin'," said Riar; "I wouldn't
name 'im no Injun; have 'im tearin' folks' hyar off, like Miss Diddie
reads in de book. I don't want ter hab nuffin 'tall ter do wid no Injuns;
no, sar! I don't like dem folks."
"Now, chil'en, de dogs is 'sleep," said Mammy, yawning and rubbing
her eyes; "go ter bed, won't yer?"
And the little girls, after laying the puppies in the box and covering
them with an old shawl, were soon fast asleep. But there was not much
sleep in the nursery that night; the ungrateful little dogs howled and
cried all night. Mammy got up three times and gave them warm milk,
and tucked them up in the shawl; but no sooner would she put them
back in the box than they would begin to cry and howl. And so at the
breakfast-table next morning, when Dumps asked her papa to tell her
something to name her puppy, Diddie gravely remarked,
"I think, Dumps, we had better name 'um Cherubim an' Seraphim, for
they continually do cry."
And her papa was so