Two years in the French West Indies. Partie 2

Page 190

Ma

Bonne.

353

the various kinds I can mention only the piment-café, or "coffee-pepper," larger but about the same shape as a grain of Liberian coffee, violet-red at one end ; the piment-zouéseau, or bird-pepper, small and long and scarlet ;—and the piment-capresse, very large, pointed at one end, and bag-shaped at the other. It takes a very deep red color when ripe, and is so strong that if you only break the pod in a room, the sharp perfume instantly fills the apartment. Unless you are as well trained as any Mexican to eat pimento, you will probably regret your first encounter with the capresse. Cyrillia told me a story about this infernal vegetable. III. Z H I S T O U È

P I M E N T .

P I M E N T O

STORY.

T é n i y o n m a n m a n qui té ni e n pile, en pile y c h e ; et y o n j o u y p a té ni aïen p o u y té baill yche-là m a n g é . Y té k a levé b o n matinlà sans y o n sou : y p a sa ç a y té d o u é f a i , — l à y té k é baill latête. Y allé lacaïe m a c o u m è - y , raconté lapeine-y. M a c o u m è baill y toua chopine farine-manioc. Y allé lacaill lautt m a c o u m è , q u i baill y y o n grand trai piment. Macoumè-là di y venne trai-piment-à, épi y té p è acheté l a m o r i , — p i s s e y j a té ni farine. M a d a m e - l à di : " M è ç i , m a c o u m è ; " — y di y b o n j o u ' ; é p i y allé lacaïe-y.

T h e r e was o n c e a m a m m a w h o h a d ever so m a n y children ; a n d o n e day she h a d nothing t o g i v e those children t o eat. S h e h a d g o t u p very early that m o r n i n g , without a sou in the w o r l d : s h e d i d n o t k n o w what t o d o : she w a s s o worried that her h e a d w a s upset. S h e w e n t t o the house o f a w o m a n - friend, a n d told h e r about h e r trouble. T h e friend g a v e h e r three chopines [three p i n t s ] o f m a n i o c flour. T h e n she w e n t t o the house o f another f e male friend, w h o g a v e h e r a b i g trayful of pimentos. T h e friend told h e r to sell that tray o f p i m e n t o s : then she c o u l d b u y s o m e c o d f i s h , — s i n c e she already h a d s o m e m a n i o c flour. T h e g o o d wife said : " T h a n k y o u , macoumè"—she b i d her g o o d - d a y , a n d then went t o her o w n h o u s e .

L h è y rivé àcaïe y limé d i f è ; y

T h e m o m e n t she g o t h o m e , she m a d e a fire, a n d p u t her canari [earthen p o t ] full o f water o n the fire to b o i l : then she b r o k e u p all the p i m e n t o s a n d p u t t h e m i n t o the canari o n the fire.

mette canari é p i dleau assous d i f é à ; épi y cassé toutt piment-là et mette y o adans canari-à assous difé.


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.