Opossum Captured: A Catawba Tale

The animals were angry at Opossum. They were tired of Opossum boasting. They were tired of Opossum playing tricks on them. So, the animals got together and caught Opossum.

Then they debated what to do with him.

"Burn him in the fire!" some of the animals shouted.

Opossum just laughed.

"Let's drown him in the water!" others shouted.

Opossum kept laughing.

"We should shove him into the brambles!" they all shouted.

"Oh no!" shrieked Opossum. "Don't do that!"

So they shoved Opossum into the brambles, and he scurried away. "This is my town!" Opossum sang. "This was always my town!"

(Public Domain Pictures)

This is part of Sally Gordon's long story about Opossum, and it is one of the "Brer Rabbit" stories that circulated among Native American storytellers. For the back-and-forth between Native American storytellers and African American storytellers, see  When Brer Rabbit Meets Coyote: African-Native American Literature by Jonathan Brennan; available at Internet Archive.