The Gate to Wolf's Garden

Rabbit knew Wolf's garden was full of collards and carrots, but he couldn't get inside. The garden gate had no latch, no handle, no hinges. "It's magic!" Rabbit realized, so he waited in hiding to learn the magic words.

Wolf came. "BUBMEANG!" he said. The gate opened and then shut.

Rabbit came back that night. "BUBMEANG!" The gate opened, and Rabbit raced in. Then the gate shut.

After eating his fill of collards and carrots, Rabbit was ready to leave.

"BUBMEANG!" 

Nothing happened.

Rabbit knew the words to get inside the garden, but not the words to get back out!

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Inspired by: The Days when the Animals Talked by William J. Faulkner, 
Notes: This is "Brer Wolf's Magic Gate," and in the original story, Rabbit does hear the words for coming back out ("Crimp up!") but he's written them in his notebook and when the clouds cover the moon, he can't read what he wrote. Also, when he says the wrong words, the gate starts going "Bang! Bang!" which is what alerts Wolf, but I switched it to the next day: Wolf Catches Rabbit in the Garden.

Faulkner's main source for these stories was Simon Brown, a former slave whom Faulkner knew when he was growing up in South Carolina. There's a historical marker now in Simon Brown's honor: Green Book of South Carolina.