In marched the queerest assortment of
creatures Pierre had ever seen. Since last New Year's, he
corrected himself. There were monkeys and buffalo and bears and
giants that nearly knocked their heads on the rafters and
shapes that Pierre couldn't even put a name to. Around and
around the room they marched, singing at the top of their lungs
to a tune the monkey fiddled:"Good evening to the master and the mistress
And all the people of the household.
For the first day of the year you owe us
The Guignolee!
If you haven't much to give us
Tell us so.
A chine of pork ninety feet long
Isn't much.
Besides we don't ask much.
Only the eldest daughter of the house.
We will feed her well
And keep her feet warm...
Let us dance the rag-dance, the rag-dance, the rag-dance!"
At that everybody joined hands and jumped and danced around the room.
Excerpt from Natalia Belting, Pierre of Kaskaskia, New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1948:151-152
Note: The Guignolee was the name of a
female clown, associated with festivities.
A chine of pork refers to a cut of meat
that included the back and ribs of the animal.
© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96
