"It's barbecue-time!" Rabbit said. "See that fire?" He pointed towards the setting sun. "You get the fire, and I'll butcher the cow."
Guinea-Fowl walked and walked but never could reach the fire. When he returned, he saw Rabbit in the moonlight... but no cow.
"Where's the cow?" Guinea-Fowl shouted.
"It dove in the ground!" Rabbit pointed at a tail sticking out of the ground; he had taken the meat home and planted that tail. "Help me pull!"
They pulled, and the tail came out.
"Oh no!" said Rabbit sadly. "It got away."
Inspired by: South Carolina Folk Tales. Bulletin of University of South Carolina (a WPA project).
Notes: This story is "Buh Rabbit an Buh Guinea." The book provides detailed comparative notes. It's unusual to find this story told about Guinea-Fowl; the notes point out that it is usually told about Partridge. I might change this to Partridge if/when this story becomes part of a book. This is just the first part of the story; in the second part of the story, they roast the tail: Guinea-Fowl and Rabbit Eat the Cow's Tail.
This is one of my personal favorite folktale types, and it is African in origin; Baer concludes, "The absence in Anglo-American tradition and appearance in the West Indies and mainland United States points to Africa as a source." For the West Indies, see Anansi and the ox tail (Anansi is the victim) and also Anansi and the donkey tails (Anansi is the trickster).
Haha Guinea-Fowl is so gullible, firstly to believe that the setting sun is really a fire, and secondly to believe that the cow had dived into the ground!
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