The Boy And The Branch

Here's another post from my catch-up series, explained here. It's May 19th, despite the date on the post. And this story is not from Inside Jokes but a variant that the earlier story reminded me of--probably dated to the early 1960's. It's way, way beyond politically incorrect, but it's the way that I heard it, and that's the way I'll tell it. People who find their sensibilities offended by racist, sexist or other -ist forms of humor, but for some reason the two categories don't meet in my head, and a good joke is good--and sometimes better--when it's something you would not want to tell in public.A little colored kid (as we would call them in them days) is walking along the edge of a cliff, when it gives way. Suddenly he finds himself hanging on to a branch growing from the sheer rock face, two hundred feet above a jumble of sharp rocks."Help! Help!" He cries. But there's no one around."Help me Lord! Please help me!" He calls out.Suddenly there's a burst of thunder, the sound of trumpets and he's bathed in light. And he hears a Voice say: "Little nigger boy, let go of the branch.""Lord, I can't do that! If I let go, I'll be killed!""Little nigger boy," the Voice repeats, "let go of the branch.""Lord, I can't. I can't""Little nigger boy," says the Voice. "Do you believe in me?""Yes, Lord," the boy says. "Of course I do.""Then let go of the branch," says the Voice."OK," the boy says, hesitantly. He lets go of the branch, falls two hundred feet and splatters on the rock below.There's a long pause. Then the Voice speaks."I hate niggers," says the Voice.