Rabbit's Wedding Feast

Rabbit built a trap in the shed and then boiled water for stew.
"I'm getting married!" Rabbit yelled. "Come to the feast!"
Cow came.
"Go fetch wine from the shed," Rabbit said. "Here's the key."
Cow opened the door. SNAP went the trap. 
Rabbit threw Cow in the pot.
Elephant came, opened the door, SNAP went the trap. 
Rabbit threw Elephant in the pot.
Monkey came. "Help!" he yelled. "I can't figure out how this key works."
"Fool!" said Rabbit. "Like this." Rabbit opened the door, SNAP went the trap. 
Rabbit jumped just in time, but he lost his tail.


Inspired by: Folklore of the Antilles by Elsie Clews Parsons.
Notes: Parsons collected this story in Les Saintes; you can find it online at Hathi Trust; she indexes it as: 14. Caught in his own trap, although it's not a "heave!" type as told here; it really should be classified as 15. Pitfall; see this story from Guadaloupe (French) for example.


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