"Remember Aunt Phyllis? From out by Minnoveville? Mr. Garner sent one a you all to get her foreach and every one of my babies. That'd be the only time I saw her. Many's the time I wanted toget over to where she was. Just to talk. My plan was to ask Mrs. Garner to let me off atMinnowville whilst she went to meeting. Pick me up on her way back. I believe she would a donethat if I was to ask her. I never did, 'cause that's the only day Halle and me had with sunlight in itfor the both of us to see each other by. So there wasn't nobody. To talk to, I mean, who'd knowwhen it was time to chew up a little something and give it to em. Is that what make the teeth comeon out, or should you wait till the teeth came and then solid food? Well, I know now, becauseBaby Suggs fed her right, and a week later, when I got here she was crawling already. No stoppingher either. She loved those steps so much we painted them so she could see her way to the top."Sethe smiled then, at the memory of it. The smile broke in two and becamea sudden suck of air,but she did not shudder or close her eyes. She wheeled.
"I wish I'd a known more, but, like I say, there wasn't nobody to talk to. Woman, I mean. So I triedto recollect what I'd seen back where I was before Sweet Home. How the women did there. Ohthey knew all about it. How to make that thing you use to hang the babies in the trees — so youcould see them out of harm's way while you worked the fields. Was a leaf thing too they gave emto chew on. Mint, I believe, or sassafras. Comfrey, maybe. I still don't know how they constructedthat basket thing, but I didn't need it anyway, because all my work was in the barn and the house,but I forgot what the leaf was. I could have used that. I tied Buglar when we had all that pork tosmoke. Fire everywhere and he was getting into everything. I liked to lost him so many times. Once he got up on the well, right on it. I flew. Snatched him just in time. So when I knew we'd berendering and smoking and I couldn't see after him, well, I got a rope and tied it round his ankle. Just long enough to play round a little, but not long enough to reach the well or the fire. I didn'tlike the look of it, but I didn't know what else to do. It's hard, you know what I mean? by yourselfand no woman to help you get through. Halle was good, but he was debt-working all over theplace. And when he did get down to a little sleep, I didn't want to be bothering him with all that.
Sixo was the biggest help. I don't spect you rememory this, but Howard got in the milk parlor and Red Cora I believe it was mashed his hand. Turned his thumb backwards. When I got to him, shewas getting ready to bite it. I don't know to this day how I got him out. Sixo heard him screamingand come running. Know what he did? Turned the thumb right back and tied it cross his palm tohis little finger. See, I never would have thought of that. Never. Taught me a lot, Sixo."