Cajun and Creole Folk tales by Various Storytellers

Accession No.: 
AN1-089-B

Bud Fentroy (Mary Fentroy's Son) (same as AN1.112):

-Bouki and Lapin raising sweet potatoes/corn. Lapin always fooled Bouki (fox)
-Bouki and Lapin raising crops with bucket of butter for lunch
-Christening babies 'Lick the Top' then 'Halfway Gone' and 'Lick the Bottom'
-Lapin fooled Bouki to throw him in the bushes

(6:01) - Hearing these stories and others from his mother & grandmother
-Lil Boy who ran away from home (back in the times of cannibalism). 3 bigger brothers told him he couldn't follow them
-Found shovel to give to the little brother, then found some marbles, then an old house to sleep in where an old lady lived
-Tied heads of the bigger boys to know who they were. She had 3 daughters and put rags around their heads
-Old lady came around 2 AM and chopped her own daughters heads off
-Called their names Marion, Suzanne, and Ouzane in the morning and told them she had fresh meat
-They never came/woke up. Boys had left and she ran after them in her boots
-The boys climbed the big tree with the lady after them. The older brothers fell in the sack
-She climbed the tree going after the little boy and got stuck
-The little boy jumped, let out his brothers and caught the lady in the sack and tied her up there

(11:58) - Jesse James stories from his dad
-Jesse James and his brother Frank James were outlaws and took from the rich to give to the poor
-He liked to fight. He wanted revenge for the people who killed his mother
-Robbed banks and trains and the rich, but never the poor
-Jesse was the mean one, Frank always tried to quiet him down
-They were working in the field when mother was murdered
-Informant heard this story when he was 5 years old
-They were viewed as heroes by poor. Not talking about it too much

(15:05) - Not many people still tell stories to their children. So much television now
-Thinks his children might be too old to enjoy these stories, some of his stories told to classes on Fridays
-Taught for 24 years. Only 6 years he's a supervisor principal
-Children would sometimes tell stories they heard from their parents & grandparents

Mary Fentroy:

-Bouki et Lapin faisant la récolte (patates douces et maïs) (same story as above)
-Lapin's always getting something and Bouki gets nothing. Hanging/drowning Lapin would be a sin?
-Throwing Lapin in the briers. Lapin always won

Red Riding Hood & Goldilocks and Three Bears (23:41)
-Three brothers who ran away from home (same story as above) (can't remember the latter part)
-Little brother rescued big brothers from old lady who ate children
-Little brother didn't sleep well, maybe he was worried. Old lady brought him some tea to soothe his stomach or having her build a fire to warm him. Woke up brothers while she was gone and left. Put logs under sheets to make as if the boys were still there
-'Fresh meat'
-Boys would've died if their little brother wouldn't have been with them

Bedtime stories to children after they got their lessons (31:35)
-Mary was an only child. Learned these stories from her father
-Telling stories at school on Fridays. Country schools

(37:50) - Little Red Riding Hood
-Grandmother made her red cape. Why she's called 'Little Red Riding Hood'
-Bouki et Lapin baptiser. Bouki priest. Butter for lunch (same story as above)
-'Juste commené,' 'La Moitié,' et 'Licher le fond'
-La paix avec Lapin. Lapin mange tout. Hanging/throwing Lapin in the well would be a sin?
-Throwing Lapin in the briers. Lapin always outsmarted Bouki

(46:00) - Rabbit and Cat roasting chestnuts. Cat chasing mice
-L'éléphant, le serpent?, et le temps frais. Il a peur de gêler
-Monter une montagne, ça fait plus froid en haut
-Le serpent mordant l'éléphant. Ils ont marché et ont été voir Lapin
-Mettre le serpent au côté de la plage et le laisser là

(54:50) - Bouki et Lapin et la maison du Diable. Barry asks if she know it but, she doesn't
-Also asked about Sauterelle et Froumi earlier and she didn't know that one either

Barry Ancelet & Revon Reed visiting Ed & Bee Deshotel (Same as AN1.092):

Bee Deshotel:

-Father Marcelus Deshotels told stories and sang
-Didn't have much else to do back then other than tell stories
-Jean l'Ours et la fille du roi
-Le roi était millionaire, jaloux, et quittait personne parler avec sa fille (yeux bleu et cheveux jaune)
-Jean l'Ours avait les meilleurs chiens de chasse, les plus beaux cochons et boeufs, la meilleure couleur
-Le grand coureur, le grand tireur, le grand souffleur, et le grand crieur. Et le bon entendeur
-La fille du roi qui se baignait dans le lac et Jean l'Ours la jettant des pierres
-Il est venu pour la marier. Elle doit être gagné
-Les cochons du roi et les cochon de Jean l'Ours
-Jean l'Ours tué 2 chevreuils avec ses chiens/taïeut
-Demander au roi pour sa fille. Ça prendrait la richesse du monde pour marier sa fille
-La course de 500 miles entre le sauvage et l'homme/les hommes à Jean l'Ours
-Souffle un 'tit orage
-Jean l'Ours a gagné la fille du roi. Le roi lui a donné toute sa richesse/bijouterie, et il a donné le roi tou ça il avait
-Bee a appris cette histoire avec son père

(1:04:18) - Jody McBrown, un vieux sauvage
-120-130 years old, gold bracelet, gold tooth, earrings with name on it. One day, he disappeared
-Narcisse went to hunt squirrels in McBrown's yard
-Big owl would come scare squirrels away each time Narcisse would try to shoot
-Shot the owl down, it was Jody McBrown. Brought Jean Louis to see the owl
-He was so old; he was given the choice to be whatever he wanted
-So, he chose to be an owl to take care of the squirrels in his yard and make sure no one killed them

(1:09:04) - Minette et ses roulettes. Un des plus vieilles histoires
-Minette woulait du lait pour ses roulettes. La vache voulait du foin pour du lait
-La faux voulait du vent et du lard pour du foin; La truie voulait des glands pour du lard
-Le chêne voulait du vent pour des glands. La mer a donné du vent pour le chêne

Ed Deshotel:

(1:13:00) - Le pont du Nez Piqué (conte puis chanson)
-Les bêtes disparaient. Une petit s'assiait dessus le pont pour pêcher. Le pont soufflait, en vie?
-C'était un cocodril. 10 tirages d'un gros canon pour le tuer et 100 paires de gros mulets pour l'ôter
-Le bayou a baissé 3 pieds et le monde l'a séparé en morceaux
-Gave 50 barrels of grease and enough meat for the year
-500 pairs of shoes and boots from hide. Now a cement bridge

(1:17:47) - Song
-Lying tradition with examples
-Le chien de chasse à perdrix et les serpents sonnette
-Tiré le serpent et le chien a resté comme s'il y avait toujours une perdrix
-Jouer avec le serpent. Le serpent a charmé le chien à lui emmener son manger, et le chien a crevé de faim
-La grosse cabri. Elle a donné 50 gallons de graise et un 'tit brin dans une tasse

Bee Deshotel:

(1:23:46) - Tit Lou et Prospère (pêcheurs). Faire l'amour avec à la femme à l'autre et se révenger
-Le cheval de chasse à perdrix. Pareil comme le chien
-Goujon caille qui pèsait 25 livres dessus la drague
-Le cheval a sentit la perdrix dans l'estomac du goujon

(1:32:25) - Bouki et Lapin (2 malfaiteurs) dans la grocerie
-Bouki se faisait un cochon avec lui même et pouvait pas sortir de la grocerie
-Il s'a caché, le marchand a trouvé
-Bouki et l'a fait travailler toute la journée
-'Pas proche'. Le vieil homme qu'a demander à le jeune fille qui le carressait d'aller se coucher
-Elle a dit ,"Pas proche," il avait pas de chance
-Les jumelles (Hébert) qui se ressemblaient, leur parents pouvaient pas les distingué
-"Celle-là à la droite ressemble plus à l'autre"

Media Type: 
Audio
Collection: 
Ancelet
Subject: 
Folk tales; Creoles; Cajuns;
Creator: 
Barry Jean Ancelet
Informants: 
Bud Fentroy; Mary Fentroy; Revon Reed; Ed & Bee Deshotel;
Recording date: 
Wednesday, January 1, 1975
Coverage Spatial: 
Parks, LA; Cade, LA; Redell & Mamou, LA
Publisher: 
Center for Louisiana Studies
Rights Usage: 
All Rights Reserved
Language: 
English
French
Meta Information
Duration: 
1:38:59
Cataloged Date: 
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Digitized Date: 
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Original Format: 
Audio--Reel--5"
Digital Format: 
WAV
Bit Depth: 
24 bit
Sampling Rate: 
96 kHz
Storage Location: 
Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore - Cabinet 1 Shelf 2