Week 10 Storytelling: Rabbit's Revenge

There he goes again, that Possum. Always prancing around, showing off how long and fluffy his tail is. Oh, I see that it's already covered in ribbons--it looks like Cricket has already gotten to him. The tail is beautiful now, yes, but just you wait, Possum. Just you wait.

Let me back up--my name is Rabbit. I once had a tail that was just as bushy and extraordinary as Possum's. That is, I did until that mean old Bear pulled it out. Oh, you didn't know that rabbits used to have tails as long as any other? Yes, it's a little known fact: my tail used to put Squirrel's to shame. One day, though, I got back from a meeting with Otter and all the other animals were angry at me for some reason! I felt ostracized and tried to run away, but as I was doing so, Bear grabbed at my tail and pulled it out. So now all I have is this fluffy little stub that saddens me every time I look at it.

Rabbit, after he lost his tail. Source: Wikipedia.

Now, every time Possum goes waving his backside in my face, I just get so angry. Maybe I am a little jealous, but if I have to hear how handsome his tail is one more time, I think I'm going to scream. Just the other day, he asked me about the upcoming dance for all the animals. He had the audacity to say that he should sit at a place of honor at the table during dinner, simply because his "tail is so pretty" and he "wanted everyone to be able to see it." I mean, if that's not conceited, I don't know what is.

So that day, after I talked to that stuck-up Possum, I wanted to teach him a lesson. I went to see my good friend, Cricket. Cricket is the local groomer, and he's good at what he does. I told him to go to Possum's house on the day of the dance and cut off all of the fur on his tail.

"Cricket, I can't take this anymore," I had said to him wearily.

"Whatever do you mean, Rabbit?"

"I'm talking about Possum. I get so frustrated whenever he walks by. He's always bragging about his tail, and I don't want to hear it. Part of me gets jealous and it makes me miss my own tail, and part of me is just angry at how narcissistic he is. Is there anything you can do to make him stop?"

"Well.... I don't know."

"Please? You couldn't, maybe, I don't know... cut off all his hair or something?"

"I don't know, Rabbit. Doesn't that seem a little conniving to you?"

"Maybe a bit, but I can't deal with all of Possum's gloating anymore!"

"Well.... okay. For you, Rabbit."

The dance is tonight, so I think Possum will be headed over soon. I can't wait to see the smug look wiped off of his face when he discovers that his tail is bare. Maybe that will teach him for being so stuck-up and prideful.

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Author's note: This week, I retold the story of Why Possum's Tail is Bare. In the Cherokee folklore unit prior to this story, Rabbit has a run-in with Otter up the river and steals his coat. When Rabbit returns to the other animals, they hear about what had happened and want to reprimand Rabbit. Rabbit tries to run away, but Bear steps on his tail and rips it out.

Now without his own tail, Rabbit becomes jealous of Possum's beautiful, bushy tail. Rabbit is frustrated at the constant flaunting and bragging, and decides to teach Possum a lesson. Rabbit hires Cricket, who is known as the barber of the community, to cut off all the hair on Possum's tail under the guise that he is grooming him for his big appearance at an upcoming dance. When Possum prances around later that day, he is met with laughter and embarrassment due to the loss of his fur.

I wanted to tell this story from Rabbit's perspective because the original portrays him in a malicious light. It is true that he let jealousy get the best of him and he did do some ugly things for revenge, but Possum was also wrong in being so prideful. Because both parties could have acted more graciously, I felt that Rabbit's perspective should be told as well.

Bibliography:
Myths of the Cherokee.
James Mooney (1900).
Web Source: Project Gutenberg.

Week 10 Reading Diary: Myths of the Cherokee

This week, I am reading the lore of the Cherokee tribe. I chose this because I have always been fascinated with Native American culture, and the Cherokees are one of the largest and most well-known tribes, and I was interested in seeing how their traditions were portrayed in their folklore.

Once again, this unit starts off with the tribe's take on how the world was created. As I mentioned in last week's essay, the different points of view of the early Earth and how living creatures came to be would be a vast area of study in itself. It is intriguing to compare and contrast the perspectives on the development of the world. The Cherokee point of view is not so different from that of the Chitimachas: the pre-formed world, according to both of them, was submerged in water. In the Chitimacha culture, they believed that a crawfish (a symbol of Louisiana, where they originated) dug up mud from the bottom of the ocean and it spread out to form dry land; the Cherokees believed that a water beetle did the same.

First Fire describes the origin of physical characteristics of certain birds that were there from the beginning of the Earth. I always love reading explanatory lore; it is interesting to see the creativity that early storytellers had when justifying how certain things came to be. In this story, the reasons for the raven's black feathers, the screech owl's red eyes, and the hooting and horned owls' white-ringed eyes are explained.

A similarly explanatory tale in this unit is Why the Possum's Tail is Bare. I felt so bad for the poor possum in this story! In it, the trickster Rabbit had had his tail pulled off by Bear (after he cheated Otter out of his coat) and is jealous of Possum's beautiful, bushy tail, so he hires Cricket, the local barber, to cut off every single hair from the tail. To this day, possums' tails are completely bare and in stark contrast to the rest of their bodies. Undoubtedly, someone took note of this and decided to write a story explaining why. This tale is a portrayal of the lengths some go to because of envy or jealousy.

A lot of the other myths of the Cherokee involve the trickster Rabbit as well. He is not so successful in his tricks as others in lore, however. When he goes duck hunting, he tries to convince Otter that he can do exactly what Otter does--dive, catch, and eat ducks. The plan that he devises does not seem fruitful: he almost drowns, and then when he does catch a duck, he is carried through the air and lands in a hollow sycamore stump from which he cannot escape and almost dies of starvation.

The story of the Terrapin and the Wolves also explains the texture of turtles' shells. It is also interesting to see the relationship between these Native American stories and those that originated in Africa. The part where the wolves were threatening the terrapin reminded me of the story of Brer Rabbit in which he was stuck to the tar baby and Brer Fox threatens to throw him into the briar patch. Mr. Rabbit begs fervently (and strategically) for him not to do so, when in fact he feels most at home in the briars. When Mr. Fox throws him in, Rabbit easily scampers away. Similarly, the terrapin is most comfortable in the river but tricks the wolves into thinking that this is his greatest weakness, and this is also how he escapes.

When the Huhu and the Owl get married, it is interesting to see the culture of the Cherokees really shine through. Honestly, I was very taken aback to find out that the first man turned into an owl and I didn't really understand if there was a moral to this story. The tale of the huhu (I also still don't know what this is) was very similar. Even through the slight confusion, however, I enjoyed reading these stories and getting a glimpse into the traditions. I have a friend who is learning the Cherokee language, and I will have to verify with her in the future.