Week 7 Storytelling: Have Some Integrity

One day, Brer Fox decided he was going to grow himself a peanut garden. He did all the hard labor, clearing the field behind his house, preparing the soil, planting the seeds, and tending the plants. His mouth watered as his plants greened, thinking of crunchy, salty peanuts and slick peanut oil. It wasn't long before someone else took notice of his growing garden: Brer Rabbit.

Now Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox have been in a feud of sorts, what with Brer Fox trying to eat the sly rabbit all the time. Why not too long ago, the scheming fox, with the help of Brer Wolf, had pretended to be dead in an attempt to get Brer Rabbit close enough that he could snatch him up. Even more recently than that, Brer Fox had been skulking around the rabbit's home, trying to find some grievance to lay against his children so he could gobble them up "with just cause." Well, you can imagine how Brer Rabbit's mind went to thinking up a plan to spoil the fox's botanical plans.

Every day, when Brer Fox was not attending to his peanuts, Brer Rabbit would sneak in and take his pick of peanuts before scampering out, just like he took food from other people's gardens. It didn't take that old fox long to realize his peanut plants where looking a little bare and even less time to suspect his cotton-tailed foe. So he devised a trap at the broken part of the fence Brer Rabbit was using to get into the garden, and left to run errands, allowing the rabbit time to get himself caught. And get caught he did.

Not five minutes after Brer Fox had disappeared over the hill, Brer Rabbit could be seen sneaking through the opening in the fence and... SNAP! The rope got caught up under his arms and Brer Rabbit was left hanging there, helpless as a fly in a spider web. Now this could have spelled disaster for our furry hero, if not for the appearance of Brer Bear. Brer Rabbit saw him ambling around the edge of the woods behind the garden and he called out to the bear.

Brer Rabbit caught in the trap (illustration by A. B. Frost)

"Hey there, Brer B'ar," he shouted, "Won't you come over here and help me down."

"Sure thing, Brer Rabbit." It was easy work for the large bear to yank the rope down far enough for the rabbit's feet to touch the ground so he could slip out.

"I just came in here to help my dear friend, Brer Fox, with his lovely peanut garden and I found myself hanging like a shirt on a line. Won't you help me surprise my good friend?" Brer Rabbit pleaded. Of course, kind Brer Bear obliged. "Alright, we'll help him pick all his peanuts before he gets back and we'll have a big neighborhood party to shell them all and share them all."

So the two of them got to work and by noon they had every basket full and every plant picked cleaned. They got Brer Rabbit's children to help them carry baskets up the road where they then rounded up everyone in the neighborhood to start shelling. By the time Brer Fox came back over the hill (expecting to find a humbled Brer Rabbit hanging in his tree), he was greeted by the sight of all his neighbors clustered in the road, snacking on some delicious-looking peanuts. He stopped dead in his tracks and his mouth popped wide open.

"Hi, there, Brer Fox," Brer Rabbit called to him with a wide grin. "We're all mighty thankful you decided to share your peanuts with your good friends here in the neighborhood." Not wanting to look mean-spirited, there was nothing Brer Fox could do but give a half-hearted "you're welcome," grab a big handful of what was left of his own peanuts, and plop down amongst the congregation.

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Author's Note: This story is based on the tale "Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear" from Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris (1881). In the original story, Brer Fox plants his garden and Brer Rabbit steals from it on a regular basis. However, it ended much differently and not to my liking at all. Brer Bear does help Brer Rabbit down from the trap, but he also convinces the bear to get into the trap himself, pretending like he had been acting as a scarecrow to keep critters out of the garden. Then, Brer Rabbit runs to Brer Fox and tells him that his peanut thief had been caught and was hanging up in his garden, suggesting he beat him with a stick (especially in the mouth so Brer Bear can't explain what really happened). The rabbit then runs off and hides in the mud, knowing the bear will be out to get his revenge. Mistaking Brer Rabbit for a frog, he takes false directions from the rabbit himself and Brer Rabbit hops on home, happy as a clam. The original story was also told in a much different manner, in a very rough, phonetic language. Here's an example (explaining that Brer Fox thinks he knows who the peanut-stealing culprit is): "He sorter speck who de somebody is, but ole Brer Rabbit he cover his tracks so cute dat Brer Fox dunner how ter ketch 'im."

I really disliked the original ending. I thought it was very uncalled for that Brer Rabbit hung Brer Bear out to dry (pretty literally) when he hadn't done anything wrong. So I fixed the story to be more like the other ones, where Brer Rabbit is a clever, comical, good character who sticks it to Brer Fox (who actually deserves to be pranked for trying to eat Brer Rabbit all the time).