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Story 4 |
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Story 4 |
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I am safe in saying that after the Fox and Cat fiasco we were all glad to see Aesop and his animals take a seat for the moment. Those of us who had hopes for a more solidly bipedal speaker this time around were only slightly disappointed when our next orator hopped up to the podium. There could be little doubt that he was not human. Yet in his century old tenure with our order Brer Rabbit had proven himself a more than capable entertainer. That is, if one could remember to not seat him too close to members of the fox, turtle, or wolf persuasion.
Brer Rabbit let out a holler to shut down all of the conversations which had erupted at the tail end of the last exchange. He was not one for opening pleasantries and had on more than one occasion thrown a well-aimed roll at a storyteller whose story had droned on a bit too long. For his own part he always jumped in mid-stream.
"Now you all know about my rivalry with Brer Fox. It’s true that the old fool got the best of me with the unfortunate tar baby incident. I will not deny that mistakes were made on my part. I did put my foot into a rather sticky situation. But I have never been one to cry over spilt milk. Once I freed myself from that ridiculous trap and ran right away from Brer Fox’s designs for his next meal I was willing to let bygones be bygones. You all know that Brer Fox pictured himself as the big man in those parts - the master of all he surveyed and that whole nine yards. But I was never one to let anybody think that they could boss me around simply because they had a bigger nest."
"Shortly after the aforementioned incident I was talking to the delightful Miss Meadows and her equally charming ladies in waiting. When the unfortunate subject of Brer Fox came up I may have told a lie or two to increase myself in their standing. For instance, I may have claimed that Brer Fox once served as my belated father’s favorite riding horse. Now I will not deny that this was a tale. But since Miss Meadows took such pleasure in the idea of Brer Fox being bridled I thought my lie was all for the best. Everything would have been fine had that idiot not talked to Miss Meadows shortly afterwards. Outraged at the idea that anyone could think him a riding horse, Brer Fox swore that he would drag me in front of the lady, make me confess my lie, and beat me out of this life."
"But I could see him coming from a mile away - with that swelled head of his. So when he came to my door I told him I could not leave the house because I was dying of some unfortunate illness. Now he was determined to beat the life out of me so he promised to take me to a doctor for the cure. I let out that I was too ill to walk. Brer Fox was so determined to make me answer for my lie that he told me I could ride him. Still I said I couldn’t leave the house. How could I ride on his back without a saddle? And how could I have a saddle without a bridle? Pretty soon Brer Fox had himself wearing everything down to the spurs. Suddenly I wasn’t as ill as all that. I jumped on his back, dug in the spurs, and rode that fool right across the lawn of the charming Miss Meadows. She saw exactly what kind of a riding horse that fox made."
"Well, that sure showed Brer Fox who was boss in those parts. Until our next altercation, that is. Sometime I’ll tell you about that one, too, and set the record straight about a thing or two."
After this odd parting shot Brer Rabbit stared hard at a point just over my head and vacated the podium. I turned to see Mr. Harris pulling at his suddenly constricting collar and burrowing down in his chair.
SOURCE (SEE BIBLIOGRAPHY):
Harris, Joel Chandler. "Mr. Rabbit Grossly Deceives Mr. Fox."
Uncle
Remus: His Songs and Sayings.
Ed. Robert Hemenway. Penguin: New York, 1982.
66-70.
Hemenway, Robert. Introduction. Uncle Remus: His Songs
and Sayings. By Joel Chandler Harris.
Penguin: New York, 1982. 7-31.