26S Joicrual of American Folk-Lore.
92. Don't drink water out of a bucket carried on a child's head ; to do so will stop it from growing.
CATS AND MICE.
93. It is very bad luck to kill a cat.
94. If a strange cat comes to the house, it is a sign of good luck.
95. To "move a cat," that is, to take a cat away with you, is bad luck. Negroes never move a cat.
96. A cat will suck a child's breath, and one must not be allowed to sleep in the same room with children.
97. It is bad luck to have a cat sleep in bed with you. A negro told me that one night a cat almost drew all his breath away.
98. A black cat without a single white hair on it is said to be a witch. No negro will keep a pure black cat in his house.
99. If you rub the hair of a black cat in the night, you will see the fire it has brought from hell.
100. Never give a black cat away, but lend it.
1 01. If you kill a mouse, the others will gnaw your clothes ; if you shoot one with a gun, their friends will overrun the house and drive you from it. Mice are cats' food.
102. If a mouse eats a hole in a garment, and you darn it, you will have seven years bad luck ; to avoid this, you must make a square patch.
SNAKES.
103. It is good luck to kill the first snake seen in the spring.
104. If you find a snake in the yard about the house, kill him and then burn him. No mouse will come about the house.
105. Negroes believe that a black snake sucks cows.
106. Negroes will not kill a king-snake, as he is the enemy of rattlesnakes and other poisonous snakes.
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