“Translate” the following lines into modern American English, keeping as much of the
original meaning and words as possible.
1.“Say, who is you? Whar is you? Dog my cats ef I didn’ hear sumf’n. Well, I know
what I’s gwyne to do: I’s gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin.”
2.“Yo’ ole father doan’ know yit what he’s a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec he’ll
go ‘way, en den agin he spec he’ll stay. De bes’ way is to res’ easy en let de ole
man take his own way.”
3.“Well, you see, it ‘uz dis way. Ole missus—dat’s Miss Watson—she pecks on
me all de time, en treats me pooty rough, but she awluz said she wouldn’ sell me
down to Orleans. But I noticed dey wuz a nigger trader roun’ de place considable
lately, en I begin to git oneasy”
4.“Well, I wuz dah all night. Dey wuz somebody roun’ all de time. ‘Long ‘bout six
in de mawnin’ skifts begin to go by, en ‘bout eight er nine every skift dat went
‘long wuz talkin’ ‘bout how yo’ pap come over to de town en say you’s killed.
Dese las’ skifts wuz full o’ ladies en genlmen a-goin’ over for to see de place.”
5.“I see a light a-comin’ roun’ de p’int bymeby, so I wade’ in en shove’ a log
ahead o’ me en swum more’n half way acrost de river, en got in ‘mongst de driftwood, en kep’ my head down low, en kinder swum agin de current tell de raff
come along.”
6.“Ef you’s got hairy arms en a hairy breas’, it’s a sign dat you’s agwyne to be
rich. Well, dey’s some use in a sign like dat, ‘kase it’s so fur ahead. You see,
maybe you’s got to be po’ a long time fust, en so you might git discourage’ en kill
yo’sef ‘f you didn’ know by de sign dat you gwyne to be rich bymeby.”