Brer Rabbit felt so cut down to size that he could scarcely pick up his hat to put on his head and go home. His heart was heavy and he dragged his feet along the ground. He walked along and he thought. He shook his head and he thought. How could he catch blackbirds by the sackful? He wasn’t a hawk! Why would anyone with good sense go anywhere near Brother Alligator’s mouth—so how could he knock out his teeth with a hammer?
And getting Brother Deer’s tears! Brother Deer is so foolish and skittery, if you just ask him about anything he gets scared and runs off. God fixed it so that it’s mighty hard to get a long tail. It didn’t look like he was ever going to get his.
Now, you know, Brer Rabbit is little, but he is as quick as a whip. And he worked his mind day and night on how to get a sack full of blackbirds. At last he figured out a scheme. During the fall, the white folks burn off the rice-field bank where the grass grows all summer and stands heavy. The fire just goes along, and the smoke rolls along ahead of it, and then all the birds living in the grass get foolish about the smoke and fly about like crazy.
So when they started that year, Brer Rabbit went down on the bank and got a big clump of grass, just a little way in front of where they were beginning to burn. And when the fire came that way and the heavy smoke reached them, the birds flew around madly, lighting on one bush and then another, just running away. At last they came down right in front of Brer Rabbit’s clump of grass. He jumped out and caught a bird and put it in the sack, and he jumped around again and caught some more. The birds were so slippery he got his sack full at last, and he was very proud.
Next, he began to think about the problem of Brer Alligator’s teeth. One fine day, he got his fiddle and he went down to the rice field by the river. Now Brer Rabbit worked the fiddle in his own devilish way at all the dances and picnics in the country, and made people lose their religion. And a whole lot of them had been turned out of their churches because they had crossed their feet to his dancing tunes, because when Brer Rabbit played, there aren’t any feet around that can take any notice whether they are crossing or not!
Now, this day, Brer Rabbit sat down on a stump and started to play and sing and pat his foot. And when he did that something began to move, because he knew no animal could resist that music, expecially Brer Alligator. Brer Alligator, who was way down at the bottom of the river, yelled at him and came to the top of the water, poked his big eyes out, and looked about to see who it was playing like that. But Brer Rabbit didn’t pay any attention to him. He sang and he played and he patted his foot.
Right away that music started to pull Brer Alligator out of the water, and he swam over to the bank. Still Brer Rabbit didn’t pay any attention to him. He went on singing and playing and patting his foot just like no one was around.
Brer Alligator crawled out on the edge of the marsh and then climbed right up on the bank and sat down by Brer Rabbit; he popped his eyes up at him and listened.
Brer Rabbit stopped at last. Brer Alligator praised him to the sky for his singing and fiddling. Then he asked Brer Rabbit, “Can you teach me how to play like that? I sure would like to play and sing like that, yes sir!”
Brer Rabbit made like he was thinking a little while and then said to him, “Can’t say about the singing because it depends on how a man’s mouth is made if he can learn to sing or not.”
“Look in my mouth, Brer Rabbit, and tell me if it is right.” Brer Rabbit pretended like he didn’t care. He told him it was hard to teach anyone to sing anyway. “Do, Brer Rabbit!” he begged him. But Brer Rabbit pretended like he hadn’t heard him. He just kind of scratched his head and started to hum a tune.
“Brer Rabbit! Man! You’ve got to stop that just for a minute. Look and see if I have the kind of mouth that you can teach how to sing,” Brer Alligator kept on begging.
Brer Rabbit just yawned and stretched himself and looked down at Brother Alligator, shaking his head and making clucking sounds.
“All right, then, maybe I can, but you have to listen to me close and do just as I say.” “Sure! Sure! Brer Rabbit. Anything you say!” “Then shut your eyes tight till I tell you to open them again.”
Brer Alligator shut them. “Open your mouth wide—real wide—and hold it that way.” And Brer Alligator did just as he was told.
Brer Rabbit grabbed a little lightwood knot, and he jammed it into Brer Alligator’s jaws to keep them wide open, clear back by the corners of Alligator’s mouth, so he couldn’t shut it down. And he said, “Bite on that a minute and hold still.”
Then he whipped out his little hammer that God had given him and—Crack! Crack! He knocked out both of Brer Alligator’s eye teeth. And then just as quickly he ran off with them.
Brer Alligator hollered and yelled and thrashed around looking for Brer Rabbit. But Brer Rabbit didn’t pay any attention to him. He just scampered on home. And every time he thought how Brother Alligator’s jaws might have scrunched down on him, he had to wiggle himself to feel if he was all there. Brer Rabbit was mighty satisfied with himself then, yes sir.
The last thing Brer Rabbit had to do was to get that calabash full of Brother Deer’s eye water, and then he would have all the tasks done. But he knew that getting the eye water would be the hardest task of all. He could hardly sleep again because he was so bothered by the problem. He couldn’t think of anything except to ask Brer Deer directly to help him. But that wasn’t any use because Brer Deer knew Brer Rabbit too well and would figure out that he was going to play some kind of trick on him. Deer would take off so fast when he saw Brer Rabbit that no one would even be able to catch up with him to argue the point.
The problem got so hard Brer Rabbit almost gave up the whole thing, but then he saw Brer Horse and Brother Bull Cow with their nice long tails switching and swinging and it reminded him of how fine he would look, walking on the Big Road, if he just had one of those long tails. He could sure sashay along the road and shake that tail about and just look so handsome. So he began to scratch his head again and think about it some more. Man, he is a schemer, that Brer Rabbit! And finally he got a notion.
Brer Deer lived way down deep in the woods. A long time ago, he used to live in the settlement. He and Brer Dog even planted land together. But Brother Deer, or one of the family, had a fight with Brer Dog; and what with one thing or another it got to be such a goings-on that Brer Dog and his family made Brer Deer and his family run away every time they got a chance. That’s what made Brer Deer begin a little place way off by himself. Poor Brer Deer was scared of nearly all the animals because of that experience; in fact, he was the most frightened creature in the woods.
Brer Rabbit counted on that, and he went deep in the woods till he came to the little clearing where Brer Deer had his house. And he found Brer Deer lying down in the hot sun in his yard. Brer Rabbit passed the time of day with him. They talked a little bit about crops and weather and who had been turned out of church, and who had gotten killed at the picnic, and such things.
At last Brer Rabbit said, “Brer Deer, you know I am your friend, right?” “Sure, Brer Rabbit, I know that well.” “You know I always do stick up for you, right?” “Yes, man!” “Very well, then, I have to inform you that they have been throwing your name about so much up in the settlement that I had to come and tell you about it.”
“What! What did they say?” “They said that you are no good at jumping any longer—that Sister Nanny Goat takes the prize for jumping nowadays.”
“Now! Brer Rabbit—who could say that? Why, I can jump three times higher than that no-count little thing!”
“Brer Dog said you couldn’t, and I told him that just wasn’t so. And I came here to give you the chance to show me how you can still jump higher than anyone. Now I saw Sister Nanny Goat jump a bush almost as high as that one over there, and she could jump it good, too. Can you jump that high?”
Brer Deer sucked his teeth and shook his head and just kind of smiled. He said, “Man! When I was a little fellow, before I could ever walk, I cou
ld jump bushes like that one.”
“Well then, why don’t you go on? That bush goes awful high up in the air for anyone to jump! But if you can make it, I would sure like to see it, so I could pass the word along in the street to Brer Dog.”
Brer Deer got up and he ran down his yard and then he came back over the bush just high and fine and graceful. Brer Rabbit looked astonished. He whistled. He slapped his leg praising Brer Deer for how high and far he could jump. “That isn’t anything,” said Brer Deer, and he jumped over another bush a little higher, just to show what he could do.
Brer Rabbit loudly sang out his praises. “Brer Dog is sure going to have to shut his lying mouth now when I carry the tale to everyone about how fine you jump. Man! you look nice doing that! I reckon you could even jump that big bush yonder?”
And Brer Deer took that one as well. So Brer Rabbit pointed to higher and higher bushes, till at last he fixed on one that wasn’t a bush—it was more like a young tree, and it had a heavy fork and was all tangled up with jasmine and cat briar and snailox and supplejack and other kinds of vines.
When he looked at the three with jasmine, Brother Deer sort of hesitated. But Brother Rabbit encouraged him with so much praise that he reared back and jumped it. He leaped very high in the air—but he didn’t quite make it. He landed slam bang right in the middle in the big fork!
The jump knocked his breath out of him. When he twisted around to get out, he got so tangled up in that jacktwine and briar that it got harder to move. He hollered for Brer Rabbit to come help him.
Brer Rabbit made sure that he was caught fast and he said, “Man, I can’t help you. You’re too heavy and you might fall on me and bust my back. But I will go right away to the settlement and find some help to get you out.”
With that, he ran down the path until he was out of sight and then he threw himself on the ground and he rolled and cackled and laughed at the way he had fooled Brer Deer and the way he was going to get his way now. Brer Rabbit laughed till he was crying.
And then he got up off the ground and pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and ran back to Brer Deer wailing and sobbing: “Brer Deer, you better get out of that bush now. Don’t waste a minute because Brother Dog—” And he made out like he couldn’t speak, he was crying so. “What’s the matter, Brer Rabbit?” Brer Deer was so scared that his voice trembled.
“You better come out right now because Brother Dog and his whole family are right behind me, and they’re going to kill you and eat you if you stay in that bush. When I got close to the settlement, I saw them running down the path coming this way.”
Brer Deer shook and kicked himself. He pulled and he pushed but all he did was tangle himself more tightly in the jacktwine. “Get out of that bush, Brer Deer! Get out of that bush before they get here and kill you right in front of my eyes.” And Brer Rabbit bowed his head and mopped his eyes with his handkerchief.
Then Brother Deer burst out crying. He struggled and cried, and then he struggled and then he cried some more. And all that time Brother Rabbit made out as if he was helping him out, but all he was doing was tangling the vines around Brother Deer’s foot. Then he held out that little calabash that God had given him and caught every drop of that eye water which ran out of Brer Deer’s eyes.
Every time Brer Deer looked like he might let up, Brer Rabbit screeched out, “Oh, poor Brother Deer! You are going to be caught today!” And Brer Deer would bawl out some more.
But even so, the calabash wasn’t quite full yet, so Rabbit called out, “I see them getting closer, Brer Deer, howling for your meat! Hurry, Brer Deer, and get loose, or no one can save you!”
Brer Deer struggled the best he could, but he couldn’t move himself and he went on crying. And so with all of that Brer Rabbit filled the calabash with eye water. Then he picked up a little calabash and he wiped his own eyes and he didn’t say anything else. He just walked away and left Brer Deer high up in the tree fork.
Now that Brer Rabbit was all done with the tasks God had given him, he didn’t waste any time. He went home, put on his store clothes, and picked up the three things that God had asked for. He took the path to God’s house and all the way he swaggered.
When he got there this time he didn’t go to any back door, no sir! He walked right up to the front door, and knocked bold and loud. BAM! BAM! BAM!
God was in the house and hollered out, “Who is there?” And Brer Rabbit answered, “It’s me, sir, Brer Rabbit !”
“What?” God’s voice sounded kind of curious. “You’re back already, are you? You haven’t done all the tasks I set you to do?” “Yes, sir.” “You mean to tell me you got all those things I told you to get?” “Yes, sir. They are all right here, sir.” “Take care with your foolishness, Brother Rabbit! You don’t lie to me?” “No, sir. I have them all, sir.”
God didn’t make any sound for a while, but after such a length of time he came out to the door. Brer Rabbit kind of puffed himself up. He felt so pleased with himself that he was just grinning all over his face. Then he noticed that God looked vexed. And Brer Rabbit straightened up his face, put down the sack of blackbirds, then reached down in his side pocket and pulled out a little handkerchief and unwrapped Brer Alligator’s two eye teeth, and handed them to God. There they were for sure, and the blood was still on them. And he hunted in his coattail pocket and pulled out the calabash full of Brother Deer’s eye water.
God tasted it, and smelled it, and then he said, “You are smart, aren’t you, Brother Rabbit! Very well, then!” He pointed to a loblolly pine tree out in the yard. “You go and seat yourself underneath that pine tree till I can fix you up.” And he turned around and went into the house and slammed the door after him. BAM!
Now Brer Rabbit went and did as he was told and sat down under that tree. But he didn’t like the way God had slammed the door at all. And he didn’t like the way God had talked to him. And he noticed that God’s eyes showed red like fire when he looked at the pine tree. And Brer Rabbit couldn’t rest easy because he was getting more and more scared. He scuffled around on his haunches—little bit by little bit—till he got to the other side of the tree trunk from the Big House, and sneaked away real quietly, keeping the tree between him and the house, till he got away over in the corner of the yard where he could hide himself under a heavy sucklebush.
Well, sir! He was hardly in the sucklebush before, BRAM! BRAM! BRAM! Out of the clear sky that didn’t have so much as a cloud in it came the biggest thunder and lightning bolt that ever was seen. Wow! It just crashed down on the loblolly where Brer Rabbit had been! And the next minute, where that pine tree stood, there wasn’t anything at all except a pile of kindling, and that was afire. Brer Rabbit didn’t stop for anything! He took his feet in his hands and hit the avenue to the Big Gate and he screamed.
About that time, God in the Big House looked out the window and saw a little something just running lickety-split down the avenue. And he looked close and sure enough it was Brother Rabbit. He leaned out the window and put his two hands to his mouth and he hollered: “Ah-hah! Ah-hah! Ah-hah! You think you are so smart, eh! You are so drat smart! Well, get a long tail yourself!”
—North Carolina
11
THE DEVIL’S DOING
When the Devil gets a good hold of you he’s bound to leave his mark on you; and what’s more, he’ll leave that mark on your children and your grandchildren.
And that’s the way it was with the catfish. If he’d kept out of the Devil’s hands, he’d been a whole lot better-looking than what he is, and so would his children. You’ve noticed that the catfish doesn’t have any scales like the other fish, but he wasn’t always that way. It happened more or less like this.
It was a Friday morning that the Good Lord created the fish, and when he turned them all loose in the river it was a mighty fine sight, I’ll tell you. And there wasn’t any more handsome fish in the crowd than the catfish. He was all covered with red and yellow and blue scales according to the kin
d of catfish he was, and he was one of the finest fishes in the river.
Well, the Good Lord created all the different kinds of fish in the forenoon, and he set out to make all the chickens and the turkeys and the geese in the afternoon. When it come dinner time, he put away the tools and locked the door and put the key in his pocket and went along up to the Big House to get something to eat.
After dinner, the Good Lord and the Angel Gabriel were walking along back down the Big Road, picking their teeth, and talking about whether they ought to make the birds with scales, like the fish, or with feathers, when who did they bump into by the side of the road but Old Nick, and he was scraping the scales off some catfish he had just caught. And the Good Lord said: “Look here, Nick, what in the name of common sense are you doing with those fish?”
Old Nick said, “Well, I noticed it was Friday, and I thought I’d just have a fine fish dinner, and so when I saw how crowded the fish were in the river, I thought it would sort of help matters if I’d just thin them out a bit. So I reached down and grabbed a few of the catfish that were handiest, and I was just getting them ready to fry when you came along.”
And the Good Lord came right back: “Well, you look here; you just put those fish back in the water and go on about your business, you trifling good-for-nothing black rascal!”
He made Old Nick put all the fish back in the water. Now, where the scales had been scraped off it hurt so that the catfish went down to the bottom and rolled over in the mud to try and do something about the pain. Bye and bye, the pain went away, but the scales never grew back, and from that time on the catfish haven’t had scales.
And that’s what makes me tell you that you better always keep out of reach of the Devil, because if you don’t, he’ll make trouble for you and all your kinfolks.
—American South
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African American Folktales Page 9