Rabbit Must Catch Blackbirds

Rabbit wanted to marry Man's daughter. "If you want to marry her, Bring me nine living blackbirds," Man said. 

Rabbit grabbed his fiddle and a sack and then stood under a tree, playing.

"Why are you so happy, Rabbit?" the blackbirds asked.

"Because I can do something nobody else can do," Rabbit said. "I can fit my head inside this sack!" Rabbit stuck his head in and pulled it out. "I bet you can't do that!"

He opened the sack and the foolish blackbirds flew in. Rabbit counted... "Nine!" 

Then Rabbit closed the sack and went back to Man, laughing.

---

Inspired by: South Carolina Folk Tales. Bulletin of University of South Carolina (a WPA project).
Notes: This story is "You Can' Head Buddah Rabbit." The book provides detailed comparative notes about the parallels between this story and the usual cycle in which Rabbit seeks wisdom (although sometimes, as here, he seeks to marry the king's daughter, Man's daughter, etc.). In the original first story, this is just the first in a series of tasks. The next task is to fetch a living alligator's tooth.