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4.

sitting in school asleep, I remember one day Mrs Jackson asked me--teacher--she said, "Minnie, what on earth?" I was only eleven years old then. "What's the matter with you?" Told her I'm just tired and sleepy. Told her I just don't rest. She say, "Why?" "I don't sleep at night." I would sleep but there is someone tormenting me in my dreams and just torment me and keep me just--well, just all--just-- Now, this old men, they didn't-- they wouldn't try to hurt me, they would even be five, six, ten or twelve, something like that--and dressed just like the old prophets, the old Abraham prophets and people, and just as soon as I get to [[strikethrough]]a[[/strikethrough]]sleep I'd go right out on the streets and here they come from somewhere, pushing me down halfway and another one catch me one throwing me up, & another one catch me and tickle [[strikethrough]] them [[/strikethrough]] me nearly to death, just laughin'. And they carried me all the way from Seven and Castle to Seven + Market Street, right on out to that cemetery, Soldiers Cemetery. I have woke up out there more times than I can tell you. And so when I-- One night--mornin'--I got up real early and I-- Mama say, "What's the matter with you, Minnie?" I say, "I'm tired, Mama." Now then she'd say, "Well, are you sick? Do you feel sick?" I told her, "No," I said, "but I'm tellin' you I just don't sleep. I can't sleep." So after that, a good while after that, somebody started to calling me. We were living on Tenth and Green Street, right back of the big--what-you-ma-call them?--cemetery now, the white people's cemetery back there, Pine Forest. And someone would start to callin' me, and the voice was just like Mama's. I'd be playin'-- out playin'. "Minnie!" I would run. "Mama?" "Oh, I didn't call you." Soon's I'd get back out there, "Minnie!" "Yes, Mama?" She'd say, "I didn't call