Cultural Background Storyteller's Cabin			Adapted by: Craig Dominey and Veronica Byrd One morning, in a small shack deep within a Louisiana swamp, Sister Jones woke with a start. She looked at her husband who was sleeping soundly beside her. She was a bit uneasy, for she had dreamed of a beautiful wedding, and she had been taught since the time she was little that to dream of marriage was a sure sign of death. Sister Jones lay there and wondered who was going to be the one to pass from this earthly life to the next - she or her husband, Cephus. Well, about a week later, she got her answer. Her husband, who had been suffering with the consumption, took a turn for the worst and slipped from this life into the spirit world. Now, the widow Jones was sad to see her husband go, but she should have seen it coming, for she had been warned by the dream. Sister Jones immediately covered all of the mirrors in the house soon after her husband Cephus died, 'cause everyone in town knew that, if you didn't, the image of the dead would remain in the mirrors. Now, Sister Jones loved her husband, but she didn't want his image hanging around in those mirrors. The next day, Sister Jones buried her husband. Afterwards, she and the mourners came back to the house and were just sitting around talking about how they were going to miss poor ol' Cephus, stubborn though he was, when the front door swung open. A cold breeze filled the entire room - and in walked Cephus! He walked up to the mourners and said, "Y'all talkin' 'bout me?" click to enlarge He then pulled up his favorite rocking chair and sat down right between his widow and the lead mourner and said, "What's all this about? Y'all act like somebody's dead. Who's dead?" -1-
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