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Louisiana folklore

Why Opossum has a Pouch

    One evening, Opossum was playing in a field with her babies when Big Bat came swooping down and grabbed all of the little ones and carried them away. Opossum shouted and begged for Bat to bring her babies back to her, but he would not. Bat put the little opossums into a deep hole in the rock and watched over them there.

    The Cut-off

      The devil was in the Mississippi River that night. You could feel it with every eddy swirling against the helm of the boat. You could hear it in every jangle of the bell. You could see it in the dim light of the lantern as it tried to pierce the swirling fog…

      Jean Sot Guards the Door

        One day, Jean Sot’s mother wanted to go to town.
        “Now Jean,” she said, “I want you to guard the door.
        “Yes, Mama,” Jean Sot agreed.

        Jean Sot Goes Fishing

          Jean Sot was sitting gloomily on the dock of the marina casting a fishing line into the Bayou when his friend Boudreaux (Boo-dro) walked by. “Why are you so gloomy, mon ami?” Boudreaux asked his friend.
          “Oh Boudreaux, I had a terrible dream,” Jean Sot said, waving the tip of his fishing pole for emphasis…