When Lion left, Rabbit cut off the cow's tail and hauled the beef to his house. Then he came back and buried the tail.
"Help, Lion!" Rabbit yelled. "The cow's getting away!"
Lion came running, grabbed the tail and pulled; it came up out of the ground. "Oh no," said Lion, "the cow escaped!"
"Well, I'll take half of the tail," said Rabbit. Lion gave Rabbit an angry look, but let him take half of the tail.
"Well, I'll take half of the tail," said Rabbit. Lion gave Rabbit an angry look, but let him take half of the tail.
"Thanks, partner," said Rabbit, grinning.
Inspired by: Storytellers: Folktales and Legends from the South, edited by John Burrison.
Notes: The story is "Brother Rabbit, Brother Lion, and the Cow," as told by Christine Whitehead in 1969 (age fifty two, a Black resident of Macon in Bibb County). For the second part, see: Lion Visits Rabbit.
I can't believe the cheek of Brer Rabbit and how he gets away with it yet again and poor lion only gets half a tail!
ReplyDeleteWell it's his fault for trusting Brer Rabbit isn't it! I don't have any sympathy for Lion. He's brute force and stupidity personified!
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