"Some days are good," said Rabbit, "but some days are full of trouble. You'll find out sooner or later."
Then, when Gator was napping on the riverbank, Rabbit heaped up grass in a circle around Gator. Next, Rabbit set fire to the grass.
"You've got trouble now, Gator!" Rabbit shouted. "Better wake up! Better run!"
Gator woke up hollering, "BOO-JOO! BOO-JOO!"
He jumped in the river to get out of the fire.
That's how Gator's skin got all crackly.
Now even Gator knows what trouble is.
Inspired by: South Carolina Folk Tales. Bulletin of University of South Carolina (a WPA project)..
Notes: This story is "Buddah Rabbit an Buddah Gatah." The book provides detailed comparative notes, citing this story in Harris's Nights, as well as Parsons and Jones. The original story features Gator and Rabbit having a music contest too, and it's full of wonderful sound effects and exclamations, like Gator shouting "BOO-JOO!"
Here's an illustration from Harris's version:
(source)
No comments:
Post a Comment