Old One Eye
Margaret Read MacDonald Title: Old One Eye Storyteller: Margaret Read MacDonald Language: English Date of Telling: 2016-04-17 Location of Telling: Des Moines, Washington Duration of Story: 04:59 Source of Story: “Old One Eye” in Twenty Tellable Tales by Margaret Read MacDonald (American Library Association, 2004) Location of Story: The Hills, Cabin Subject Headings: Criminals Notes: |
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One time an old woman lived in a log cabin way up in the hills. She had been saving her money, and saving her money and she had a leather bag full of coins hid up in the chimney corner. Every night she would sit in her cabin and she would rock back and forth, back and forth. She would card her wool. They had an old carding comb and they would scrape the wool. Scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch. Rockin’ and a cardin’, rockin’ and a cardin’. After awhile she would commence to yawn. Over by the chimney corner she had an old dried salt fish hanging by its tail. She would take a bite out of that fish after she had yawned three times. That was her midnight snack. She had been eatin’ on that fish so long, she had already bit out one eye. It only had one eye left. So on account of that she called that fish, Old One Eye. So when she yawned three times she would get out her butcher knife and go over and take a chunk out of Old One Eye, chaw it up and go to bed.
Now in that territory, there come three robbers. They heard about that lady and that bag of gold he had up in the chimney corner. They figured they would get in there after she was asleep and they would steal that gold. The head of the robbers only had one eye in his head. The other one got poked out in a fight. On account of that, he was called Old One Eye, the banded chief. So Old One Eye rides his men up there one night, he hid ‘em in the holler down behind her house. They waited until they thought she might be asleep. Then he called his first robber and he said, “You go up there and check on that old lady and see if she has gone to bed yet.” The robber climbed up there and he looked in. He went to the chimney corner and pulled out some caulking between the logs then he put his eye in there and looked in. He could see she hadn’t gone to bed yet. She was sittin’ there rockin’ and a cardin’, rockin’ and a cardin’, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.
Pretty soon she yawned, “Sakes a mercy me, that’s one that’s come to me tonight.” She meant one yawn. She looked over at the fish in the chimney corner and she said, “If three comes, I will get out my butcher knife.” Now to the robber lookin’ in by his crack he made in the chimney corner, it appeared she was looking directly at him.
He jumped up and ran down the holler, “Old One Eye, Old One Eye, she is a witch! She saw me. She looked right through those logs and said, “There is one that is comin’, two more comes I’ll get my butcher knife out. We better get outa here.”
Old One Eye says, “She couldn’t have seen you, you were just scared.” He called the second robber, “You go up there and you check on her.” The second robber got up there in the same spot. He peeked through the little hole the first robber made. She hadn’t gone to bed. She is still sittin’ there, rockin’ and a cardin’, rockin’ and a cardin’, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.
Pretty soon she yawned. “Laws a mercy me,” she said. “That is two that’s come already. Well if one more comes I’ll get out my butcher knife.” She looked over where that dried up fish was hangin’. And my that second robber thought she’d seen him.
“Oh she is a witch One Eye! She looked right through them logs and when she’d seen me she said, “That’s two that’s come tonight and if one more comes I’ll get out my butcher knife.” “We better run, she’s gonna chop us up.”
Old One Eye said, “Oh you were both just scared! I’ll go see what’s goin’ on.” Old One Eye went up there. He put his good eye to that crack between the logs. He peered in there and she hadn’t gone to bed yet. She is still sittin’ there. Rockin’ and a cardin’, rockin’ and a cardin’, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.
Pretty soon she yawned. “Laws a mercy me, that is three that’s come to me tonight. Well, time to get out my butcher knife and take a chunk out of you Old One Eye.” And she come for that one eyed fish. That one eyed robber thought she’s comin’ for him. He ran down the holler.
“She is a witch, she knew my name! She said, “I’m gonna take a chunk out of you Old One Eye! Run for your lives! Run for your lives!” And they ran up the holler and they never come back. And she just went along and took her butcher knife and cut a chunk out of that old one eyed fish and chawed it up real well and went to bed. And slept right sound.
Now in that territory, there come three robbers. They heard about that lady and that bag of gold he had up in the chimney corner. They figured they would get in there after she was asleep and they would steal that gold. The head of the robbers only had one eye in his head. The other one got poked out in a fight. On account of that, he was called Old One Eye, the banded chief. So Old One Eye rides his men up there one night, he hid ‘em in the holler down behind her house. They waited until they thought she might be asleep. Then he called his first robber and he said, “You go up there and check on that old lady and see if she has gone to bed yet.” The robber climbed up there and he looked in. He went to the chimney corner and pulled out some caulking between the logs then he put his eye in there and looked in. He could see she hadn’t gone to bed yet. She was sittin’ there rockin’ and a cardin’, rockin’ and a cardin’, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.
Pretty soon she yawned, “Sakes a mercy me, that’s one that’s come to me tonight.” She meant one yawn. She looked over at the fish in the chimney corner and she said, “If three comes, I will get out my butcher knife.” Now to the robber lookin’ in by his crack he made in the chimney corner, it appeared she was looking directly at him.
He jumped up and ran down the holler, “Old One Eye, Old One Eye, she is a witch! She saw me. She looked right through those logs and said, “There is one that is comin’, two more comes I’ll get my butcher knife out. We better get outa here.”
Old One Eye says, “She couldn’t have seen you, you were just scared.” He called the second robber, “You go up there and you check on her.” The second robber got up there in the same spot. He peeked through the little hole the first robber made. She hadn’t gone to bed. She is still sittin’ there, rockin’ and a cardin’, rockin’ and a cardin’, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.
Pretty soon she yawned. “Laws a mercy me,” she said. “That is two that’s come already. Well if one more comes I’ll get out my butcher knife.” She looked over where that dried up fish was hangin’. And my that second robber thought she’d seen him.
“Oh she is a witch One Eye! She looked right through them logs and when she’d seen me she said, “That’s two that’s come tonight and if one more comes I’ll get out my butcher knife.” “We better run, she’s gonna chop us up.”
Old One Eye said, “Oh you were both just scared! I’ll go see what’s goin’ on.” Old One Eye went up there. He put his good eye to that crack between the logs. He peered in there and she hadn’t gone to bed yet. She is still sittin’ there. Rockin’ and a cardin’, rockin’ and a cardin’, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch.
Pretty soon she yawned. “Laws a mercy me, that is three that’s come to me tonight. Well, time to get out my butcher knife and take a chunk out of you Old One Eye.” And she come for that one eyed fish. That one eyed robber thought she’s comin’ for him. He ran down the holler.
“She is a witch, she knew my name! She said, “I’m gonna take a chunk out of you Old One Eye! Run for your lives! Run for your lives!” And they ran up the holler and they never come back. And she just went along and took her butcher knife and cut a chunk out of that old one eyed fish and chawed it up real well and went to bed. And slept right sound.