Rabbit Must Get Deer's Milk

"Bring me milk from the Deer," Man told Rabbit. "Then you can marry my daughter."

Rabbit went into the swamp and played his fiddle. That got Deer's attention.

"I bet I jump better than you, Deer!" Rabbit shouted.

"Prove it!" Deer shouted back.

Rabbit jumped through a narrow gap between two trees. "Now you try!" he said.

Deer jumped on through.

Then Rabbit jumped through a narrower gap. Deer jumped too.

Then Rabbit jumped through an even more narrow gap. Deer got stuck. 

Laughing, Rabbit milked Deer and took the milk back to Man.

That's how Rabbit married Man's daughter.

---

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. This is the third task, after blackbirds and a gator tooth. In the original story, Rabbit bets Deer ten dollars. Then, when it's all over, Man tells Rabbit that if he is smart enough to carry out these tasks, he should have been smart enough to take his daughter without asking. Rabbit and the daughter run off, and Rabbit realizes he could have just stolen her in the first place. Compare deer's tears in this story: Rabbit Courts the King's Daughter.