Story: Why Hawks Eat Fowls
Book: Letters from Jamaica, The Land of Streams and Woods
Author(s): Charles Rampini
Published: 1873
Internet Archive link.

Notes: The story also appears in After Africa: Extracts From British Travel Accounts and Journals, edited by Roger D. Abrahams and John F. Szwed; Internet Archive link. I removed the eye-dialect and also did light editing for punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization. Here is how Rampini glosses the hawk’s angry insults: cra-cra careless, bogro-bogro coarse, takro-takro ugly, chaka-chaka disorderly, buffro-buffro clumsey and wenya-wenya meager. When Fowl cries out before Hawk kills her, she actually calls upon her mother in what Rampini says is a typical expression, but since she is Hawk’s mother, that seemed very confusing, so I left the mother part out of the exclamation: “Wi! O me mother me dead!”

Ground Dove, Hawk, and Fowl

Long time ago, Fowl was Hawk’s mother. One day Hawk was going to him work when he see little Ground Dove playing on a flute and singing so sweet the Ground Dove’s call:
Fee, fee, fee tender!

“Do, I beg you, lend me your flute, cousin Ground Dove. It sound so sweet.”

But Ground Dove say, “No, cousin, me couldn’t do it.”

“Hi!” say Hawk. “You so quarrel-quarrel you no let I made my old mother Fowl hear you flute?”

“No, cousin,” answer Ground Dove. “You no know what the old-time people say: Spider and Fly no make good bargains. I couldn’t do it, sir, I couldn’t do it.”

Then Hawk spring upon Ground Dove and tear up him feathers and mash him up with him beak and leave him for dead upon the dirt. And him take away him flute and so carry away go home.

And when Hawk come to him house, he go into him hall to the chest of drawers that stand there, and him open the one drawer, the two drawer, the three drawer, the four drawer, the five drawer, the six drawer, till him come to the twelve drawer, and him put the flute into the twelve drawer and come back sit down.

Then he turn to him mother Fowl and say, “Grannie, if any come to you ask you for give him the flute, me put in the twelve drawer, you is not to give it him. Hear?”

And him mother say, “Yes, sir! Me hear.”

Then Hawk say, “And, Grannie, you must have my breakfast ready and keep him hot till me come back from the field. Hear?”

And him mother say, “Yes, sir! Me hear.”

Then Hawk take up him hoe and him machette and go to him ground.

But all this time little Ground Dove had followed Hawk, and when him tell him mother where him put the flute, him listen behind the door and hear what him did say.

So when Hawk gone, Ground Dove come out from behind the door and go into Hawk’s house. By this time Grannie Fowl done cook Hawk breakfast and was sitting aside the kitchen fire smoking her pipe.

“Good day, godmother,” said Ground Dove.

“Good day, my dear.”

“Godmother,” said Ground Dove, “Cousin Hawk sent me to tell you to give me him breakfast to carry to him in the field and the flute which him put in the twelve drawer to make him play and sing.”

But Fowl say, “Go long with you, pickny! You tell me one big story. Me no go give you one thing.”

Ground Dove begin to cry. Then him say, “Godmother, you think a little thing like me would tell you such a lie? No, ma’am! Me wouldn’t do it; me wouldn’t do it.”

But Fowl still sit by the fire and smoke him pipe.

Ground Dove cry more.

Then Fowl get angry and saym, “Hi! Cho! You too foolish. Don’t whine-whine at me. Go long with you! Cho!”

But Ground Dove cry on still.

“Cho!” said Fowl. “It stand too stupid.”

But Ground Dove go on cry so bad that at last Fowl get terrify. Then she rise up from her seat, take the flute from the drawer, and give it, with the breakfast, to Ground Dove for go carry it to Hawk in him field. Ground Dove dry him eyes, put him flute to him mouth, and play so sweet:
Fee, fee, fee tender!

And so go leave the house.

As him went along, him eat Hawk’s breakfast but him take the flute and hide him under him wing till him come to a lignum vitae bush close by where Hawk was at work in him field. THen him took out him flute and begin to play again:
Fee, fee, fee tender!

Hawk heard him. Hi! But him well warify when him hear this. Him throw down him hoe and him throw down him amchette, and him curse him mother for a cra-cra bogro-bogro takro-takro chaka-chaka buffro-buffro wenya-wenya old woman, and him stalk away out of him ground to him mother house.

When him come to the yard, him call out, “Mother!” But him mother no answer him. She was afraid. Then him walk into the house and him go up to the chest of drawers, and him open the one drawer, and the two drawer, the three drawer, the four drawer, the five drawer, the six drawer, till him come to the twelve drawer. But him no find him flute. Then him cross the yard and step up to him mother and say, “Hi! Ma’am, you give my flute to Ground Dove, do you? Where my breakfast?”

But him mother no answer him. She was afraid.

So Hawk say, “Hear, ma’am? WHere my breakfast, ma’am?”

Then him other fall down at him feet and say, “Sir! You no send Little Ground Dove here, make I give him you breakfast for go carry to you in the field, and you flute for make you play and sing?”

“You thief!” said Hawk. “Me never sent anyone here.”

“Wi! O!” cry out poor Fowl.

But Hawk reply, “You thief! You witch! You shall be my breakfast!”

Then him pounce upon Fowl and shake her, and tear her till her dead, and then him eat her for him breakfast!”

And this is why ever since Hawks eat Fowls.

image

Photo of red-tailed Jamaican hawk at Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buteo_jamaicensis_-Pillar_Point_Harbor,_California,_USA-8.jpg