Author's Note. The African American folktales collected by Joel Chandler Harris in the late 19th century are one of our most important sources for African folktales told in the United States, specifically in Georgia, where Harris collected stories from former slaves. Although slave owners did their best to eradicate African cultural traditions among the slaves, the stories persisted. Stories from many different African cultures came together in new ways, and there was also back-and-forth sharing of stories with Native American storytellers. The trickster "Brer Rabbit" is the main character in the stories Harris collected, but the trickster "Brer Terrapin" (turtle) also appears in many stories; the word terrapin is itself a Native American name for the turtle (Wiktionary). For this experiment, I decided to look at the stories that features both Rabbit and Turtle to see what happens. Most of the time, they cooperate! Although in one famous story, they compete. Here are some of those stories told in 100 words.
Turtle in the Sack
Fox caught Turtle and put him in a sack. "Turtle-soup for supper tonight!" he sang.
Turtle kicked and squirmed. "Turn me loose!" he shouted.
Rabbit ran up. "Folks are raiding your watermelon-patch!" he told Fox. "I'll hold that sack. Run quick!"
Fox ran off, and Rabbit let Turtle out. Then Rabbit fetched a hornet-nest and put it inside the sack.
Rabbit and Turtle waited near Fox's house. Finally Fox arrived, toting the sack. "Rabbit thought he'd fool me, but I've still got Turtle." Then Fox opened the sack and the furious hornets bit Fox all over.
Rabbit and Turtle laughed.
Moon in the Mill-Pond
Rabbit and Turtle decided to have some fun.
"Let's go fishing!" they said to Bear, Wolf, and Fox. "Meet us at the mill-pond tonight."
When everyone had arrived, Rabbit yelled, "Moon's in the water! Let's rescue her!"
"She carries a pot of gold," shouted Turtle. "We'll rescue Moon and get the gold!"
Bear rushed forward. "I'll go!" he said, plunging into the water.
"No, me first!" yelled Wolf, and Fox jumped in too.
Rabbit and Turtle stood on the bank and laughed at Bear, Wolf, and Fox all pushing each other under the water, trying to grab the Moon's reflection.
Wolf under the Rock
Rabbit heard someone shouting.
It was Wolf, trapped under a rock. "Help!"
"If I help you," said Rabbit, "you'll eat me."
"No, I swear!" said Wolf.
Rabbit helped roll the rock away.
Then Wolf grabbed Rabbit. "Now I'll eat you!"
"But you promised!" Rabbit shrieked.
Turtle heard the ruckus. "What's going on?"
Rabbit explained.
"I don't understand," said Turtle.
Wolf explained.
"I still don't understand," said Turtle. "Show me!"
"I was under this rock..." said Wolf, getting under the rock.
"NOW!" He and Rabbit slammed the rock down, killing Wolf.
"Best be more careful next time Rabbit," said Turtle, laughing.
Rabbit Races Turtle
"You're smart," Rabbit said, "but I'm fast!"
"I'm faster than you!" shouted Turtle. "Let's race! You take the road, I'll take the roadside."
They marked out a five-mile race. "One-two-three-GO!" said Buzzard, who was the judge.
Rabbit ran a mile. Turtle popped his head out of the bushes. "Best hurry, Rabbit!" he said.
Two miles. Three miles. Four miles. Turtle popped out in front every time!
Rabbit dashed to the finish-line, but Turtle was already there, doing his victory dance.
Rabbit never figured out those were Turtle's brothers and sisters. To Rabbit, they all looked alike.
Turtle won without running!
Additional Notes. Harris's versions are long and full of all kinds of charming detail; I had to leave all that out when creating these tiny versions. In the story of Rabbit rescuing Turtle, for example, Rabbit gets the hornets all riled up by banging the sack against a rock a few times. In the story about going fishing, Turtle and Rabbit make sure "Miss Meadows and the gals" are watching, so that Wolf, Bear, and Fox are humiliated in front of the ladies, and the same is true in the story of the race, where Turtle humiliates Rabbit in front of the gals. The story of the wolf under the rock comes originally from India; you may remember the Indian version of the story with jackal as the trickster: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal. You probably also know the famous Aesop's fable about the Tortoise and the Hare; I like the idea that maybe that Tortoise was a trickster too, and even Aesop was fooled! :-)
Bibliography. You can read Harris's stories online here:
Image credits.
Hi Laura!
ReplyDeleteI had also chosen the Brer Rabbit stories for my readings. They were so entertaining and I believe my favorite section of readings thus far. I told my mom about them and she explained that my grandmother used to read them to her as a child which made them comforting in a way.
Did perfecting this short form of writing take a long time? It is so impressive that you are able to fit a whole story into 100 words. Do you ever wish there were more words so that you could paint a picture for the reader?
I really enjoyed that your post included four stories. I also find it easier to read as they are short and sweet.
Brooklin
Hi Laura!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading all of the Brer Rabbit stories that you told. They were really entertaining to read and get the point of it in so few words. I also wonder if you wish that there were more words so that you could tell more of the story? I still find it super impressive that you can tell a story in 100 words. I know that I would have struggled to do it.