The Annotated African American Folktales

by Henry Louis Gates

  Then Kwaku Tse went to the house-master and told him, and returned into the belly of the cow, and chopped the side and cut the heart down, and the cow died. And Spider did the same in his cow, and both cows were dead.

  SOURCE: Adapted from A. B. Ellis, “Evolution in Folklore: Some West African Prototypes of the ‘Uncle Remus’ Stories,” 93–104.

  In a November 1895 Popular Science Monthly, a Colonel A. B. Ellis reported that he had found West African variants of tales collected by Joel Chandler Harris. He published them with the hope of showing how folklore is affected by “change of environment,” an extraordinary euphemism for a move from tribal life on the Gold Coast to enslaved conditions in the Southern States. Ellis tells us nothing about his collecting practices. The story above is the first half of a longer narrative that also includes tricks played by Spider and Kwaku Tse to secure for themselves the king’s wives.

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  1 void meat every morning: Much like the table that sets itself in European folklore, these cows are the source of an endless supply of nourishment.

  2 as strangers: Spider and his family can take on human form, and, as humans, they are spider-like, lean and hairy.

  3 dokonno: a kind of boiled maize bread

  MR. RABBIT GROSSLY DECEIVES MR. FOX

  One evening when the little boy, whose nights with Uncle Remus were as entertaining as those Arabian ones of blessed memory,1 had finished supper and hurried out to sit with his venerable patron, he found the old man in great glee. Indeed, Uncle Remus was talking and laughing to himself at such a rate that the little boy was afraid he had company. The truth is, Uncle Remus had heard the child coming, and, when the rosy-cheeked chap put his head in at the door, was engaged in a monologue, the burden of which seemed to be—

  “Ole Molly Har’,

  W’at you doin’ dar,

  Settin’ in de cornder

  Smokin’ yo’ seegyar?”2

  As a matter of course this vague allusion reminded the little boy of the fact that the wicked Fox was still in pursuit of the Rabbit, and he immediately put his curiosity3 in the shape of a question.

  “Uncle Remus, did the Rabbit have to go clean away when he got loose from the Tar-Baby?”

  “Bless gracious, honey, dat he didn’t. Who? Him? You dunno nuthin’ ’tall ’bout Brer Rabbit ef dat’s de way you puttin’ ’im down. W’at he gwine ’way fer? He moughter stayed sorter close twel de pitch rub off’n his ha’r, but twern’t menny days ’fo’ he wuz lopin’ up en down de neighborhood same ez ever, en I dunno ef he wern’t mo’ sassier dan befo’.

  “Seem like dat de tale ’bout how he got mixt up wid de Tar-Baby got ’roun’ ’mongst de neighbors. Leas’ways, Miss Meadows en de gals4 got win’ un’ it, en de nex’ time Brer Rabbit paid um a visit Miss Meadows tackled ’im ’bout it, en de gals sot up a monstus gigglement. Brer Rabbit, he sot up des ez cool ez a cowcumber, he did, en let ’em run on.”

  “Who was Miss Meadows, Uncle Remus?” inquired the little boy.

  “Don’t ax me, honey. She wuz in de tale, Miss Meadows en de gals wuz, en de tale I give you like hit wer’ gun ter me. Brer Rabbit, he sot dar, he did, sorter lam’ like, en den bimeby5 he cross his legs, he did, and wink his eye slow, en up and say, sezee:

  ‘Ladies, Brer Fox wuz my daddy’s ridin’-hoss fer thirty year; maybe mo’, but thirty year dat I knows un,’ sezee; en den he paid um his ’specks, en tip his beaver, en march off, he did, des ez stiff en ez stuck up ez a fier-stick.

  A. B. Frost.

  “Nex’ day, Brer Fox cum a callin’, and w’en he ’gun fer ter laugh ’bout Brer Rabbit, Miss Meadows en de gals, dey ups en tells ’im ’bout w’at Brer Rabbit say. Den Brer Fox grit his tushes6 sho’ nuff, he did, en he look mighty dumpy, but w’en he riz fer ter go he up en say, sezee:

  “ ‘Ladies, I ain’t ’sputin’7 w’at you say, but I’ll make Brer Rabbit chaw up his words en spit um out right yer whar you kin see ’im,’ sezee, en wid dat off Brer Fox put.

  “En w’en he got in de big road, he shuck de dew off’n his tail, en made a straight shoot fer Brer Rabbit’s house. W’en he got dar, Brer Rabbit wuz spectin’ un ’im, en de do’ wuz shet fas’. Brer Fox knock. Nobody ain’t ans’er. Brer Fox knock. Nobody ans’er. Den he knock agin—blam! blam! Den Brer Rabbit holler out mighty weak:

  “ ‘Is dat you, Brer Fox? I want you ter run en fetch de doctor. Dat bait er pusly8 w’at I e’t dis mawnin’ is gittin’ ’way wid me. Do, please, Brer Fox, run quick,’ sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.

  “ ‘I come atter you, Brer Rabbit,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee. ‘Dar’s gwine ter be a party up at Miss Meadows’s,’ sezee. ‘All de gals’ll be dere, en I promus’ dat I’d fetch you. De gals, dey ’lowed dat hit wouldn’t be no party ceppin’ I fotch you,’ sez Brer Fox, sezee.

  “Den Brer Rabbit say he wuz too sick, en Brer Fox say he wuzzent, en dar dey had it up and down, ’sputin’ en contendin’. Brer Rabbit say he can’t walk. Brer Fox say he tote ’im. Brer Rabbit say how? Brer Fox say in his arms. Brer Rabbit say he drap ’im. Brer Fox ’low he won’t. Bimeby Brer Rabbit say he go ef Brer Fox tote ’im on his back. Brer Fox say he would. Brer Rabbit say he can’t ride widout a saddle. Brer Fox say he git de saddle. Brer Rabbit say he can’t set in saddles less he have bridle fer ter hol’ by. Brer Fox say he git de bridle. Brer Rabbit say he can’t ride widout blin’ bridle,9 kaze Brer Fox be shyin’ at stumps ’long de road, en fling ’im off. Brer Fox say he git blin’ bridle. Den Brer Rabbit say he go. Den Brer Fox say he ride Brer Rabbit mos’ up ter Miss Meadows’s, en den he could git down en walk de balance er de way. Brer Rabbit ’greed, en den Brer Fox lipt out atter de saddle en de bridle.

  “Co’se Brer Rabbit know de game dat Brer Fox wuz fixin’ fer ter play, en he ’termin’ fer ter outdo ’im, en by de time he koam his ha’r en twis’ his mustarsh, en sorter rig up, yer come Brer Fox, saddle en bridle on, en lookin’ ez peart ez a circus pony. He trot up ter de do’ en stan’ dar pawin’ de ground en chompin’ de bit same like sho’ nuff hoss, en Brer Rabbit he mount, he did, en dey amble off. Brer Fox can’t see behime wid de blin’ bridle on, but bimeby he feel Brer Rabbit raise one er his foots.

  “ ‘W’at you doin’ now, Brer Rabbit?’ sezee.

  “ ‘Short’nin’ de lef stir’p, Brer Fox,’ sezee.

  “Bimeby Brer Rabbit raise up de udder foot.

  “ ‘W’at you doin’ now, Brer Rabbit?’ sezee.

  “ ‘Pullin’ down my pants, Brer Fox,’ sezee.

  “All de time, bless grashus, honey, Brer Rabbit wer’ puttin’ on his spurrers, en w’en dey got close to Miss Meadows’s, whar Brer Rabbit wuz to git off, en Brer Fox made a motion fer ter stan’ still, Brer Rabbit slap de spurrers inter Brer Fox flanks, en you better b’lieve he got over groun’. W’en dey got ter de house, Miss Meadows en all de gals wuz settin’ on de peazzer,10 en stidder stoppin’11 at de gate, Brer Rabbit rid on by, he did, en den come gallopin’ down de road en up ter de hoss-rack, w’ich he hitch Brer Fox at, en den he sa’nter inter de house, he did, en shake han’s wid de gals, en set dar, smokin’ his seegyar same ez a town man. Bimeby he draw in a long puff, en den let hit out in a cloud, en squar hisse’f back en holler out, he did:

  “ ‘Ladies, ain’t I done tell you Brer Fox wuz de ridin’-hoss fer our fambly? He sorter losin’ his gait now, but I speck I kin fetch ’im all right in a mont’ er so,’ sezee.

  A. B. Frost.

  “En den Brer Rabbit sorter grin, he did, en de gals giggle, en Miss Meadows, she praise up de pony, en dar wuz Brer Fox hitch fas’ ter de rack, en couldn’t he’p hisse’f.”

  “Is that all, Uncle Remus?” asked the little boy as the old man paused.

  “Dat ain’t all, honey, but ’twon’t do fer ter give out too much cloff fer ter cut one pa’r pants,” replied the old man sententiously.

  Brer Rabbit is a survivor, and he quickly recovers from the tar-baby trap set by Brer Fox and quietly plots his reveng
e on his enemy. Uncle Remus’s introductory melody suggests that solitary activities (“sitting in the corner”) have some kind of active component (“What you doing there?”), and in fact Brer Rabbit’s retreat from social activities signals the beginning of a new plot. In this case, he does more than turn the tables, for he makes a public spectacle of Brer Fox’s subjugation, humiliating him before an audience of women (Miss Meadows and the gals). The “grossly deceives” of the title reveals just how complete Brer Rabbit’s revenge is. The little boy’s closing question “Is that all, Uncle Remus?” and Uncle Remus’s reply about the importance of economy are reminders that the narrative style remains compact, leaving plenty of narrative gaps to provoke conversation about the story.

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  1 Arabian ones of blessed memory: The narrator is referring to The Thousand and One Nights, a collection that also has a frame narrative, one in which Scheherazade tells King Shahriyar a story every night, and breaks off the tale midway in order to pique the curiosity of the king, who delays her execution by one more day.

  2 seegyar: cigar

  3 his curiosity: The little boy’s curiosity parallels that of King Shahriyar in The Thousand and One Nights.

  4 Miss Meadows en de gals: The phrase is used generically to designate womenfolk in the tales, and, with male animals playing the main roles in Uncle Remus’s tales, the women in general are conspicuous by their absence.

  5 bimeby: by and by

  6 tushes: teeth

  7 ’sputin’: disputing

  8 Dat bait er pusly: That bite of parsley

  9 widout blin’ bridle: without a bridle with blinders

  10 peazzer: porch

  11 en stidder stoppin’: instead of stopping

  RABBIT MAKES WOLF HIS HORSE

  (South Sea Islands)

  Dey gave a ball, a party like, an’ inwite all de animals—Wolf an’ Rabbit an’ ev’y bit. An’ Wolf was payin’ ’dress dis young girl, an’ Rabbit was payin’ ’dress to um. An’ all was goin’ to de party. An’ Rabbit was tellin’ de girl dat Wolf couldn’ go to de party, ’cause he was his saddle-horse. So Wolf wen’ to Brer Rabbit, an’ say, “How you tell dem girls I you’ saddle-horse? I like fo’ you to prove it.”—“I sick.”—“I’ll kyarry you half way.”—“Man, I kyan’ go ’less you le’ me put de saddle on you.”—“Put him on.”—“I’ll hide him in de bush.” Gets de spur. Go t’rough a little swamp. Rabbit lick his spur in Ber Wolf side. Lick him in de head. Sunday, too, all dem girls out. Rabbit ride up to de house. Say, “Whoa! Didn’ I tell yer, girl, dis my fader ridin’-horse? Boy, take dat saddle off an’ feed him for me.”

  SOURCE: Elsie Clews Parsons, Folk-Lore of the Sea Islands, South Carolina, 53–54.

  The folklorist Elsie Clews Parsons recorded this short, snappy version of what Joel Chandler Harris called “Mr. Rabbit Grossly Deceives Mr. Fox.” She gives us the story, which exists in many different versions, in Gullah dialect.

  BROTHER RABBIT’S LOVE-CHARM

  The Ashanti tale in which Anansi wants all stories known by his name or seeks a monopoly on wisdom can be found in many variant forms in the New World, and some have been included in the first section of this volume. In most versions, the trickster figure wants wisdom or power, but in some cases he is looking for a wife, a child, two extra legs, or a long tail. To earn his prize, he must obtain one or more objects or is required to measure something, often a snake (a boa, python, or rattlesnake, depending on the region). In some instances, he must capture a wild animal—lions, hyenas, alligators, or jackals. And in others he must fill a gourd with birds or insects. And, finally, occasionally he must come up with the milk of a deer, buffalo, cow, or the tears of a lion or elephant. William Bascom provides summaries of more than eighty variants of what he calls “Trickster Seeks Endowments” in African Folktales in the New World. He discredits the theory that the tale originated with Native Americans and documents its origins in African storytelling cultures.

  African Jack’s insistence on telling the tale—he interrupts Uncle Remus—points to Harris’s awareness of the African origins of the tale. The African herbalist and root doctor is a source of power in Senegambian traditions, as Keith Cartwright points out, and he is more likely to reward Rabbit than God or the Sky God, who often dismisses Rabbit or punishes him. In “Buh Rabbit and the Conjur Man,” Rabbit traps yellow jackets in a calabash and fetches a live rattlesnake. The Conjure Man tells him: “Buh Rabbit, you is suttenly de smartest ob all de animal, an you sense shill git mo and mo ebry day. Mo na dat, me gwine pit white spot on you forrud, so ebrybody kind see you had de best sense een you head” (113).

  “Dey wuz one time,” said Uncle Remus one night, as they all sat around the wide hearth—Daddy Jack, Aunt Tempy, and the little boy in their accustomed places—“dey wuz one time w’en de t’er1 creeturs push Brer Rabbit so close dat he tuck up a kinder idee dat may be he wa’n’t ez smart ez he mought be, en he study ’bout dis plum’ twel he git humble2 ez de nex’ man. ’Las’ he ’low ter hisse’f3 dat he better make inquirements—.”

  “Ki!” exclaimed Daddy Jack, raising both hands and grinning excitedly, “wut tale dis? I bin yerry de tale4 wun I is bin wean’t5 fum me mammy.”

  “Well, den, Brer Jack,” said Uncle Remus, with instinctive deference to the rules of hospitality. “I ’speck you des better whirl in yer en spin ’er out. Ef you git ’er mix up anywhars I ull des slip in front er you en ketch holt whar you lef’ off.”

  With that, Daddy Jack proceeded:

  “One tam, B’er Rabbit is bin lub one noung leddy.”

  “Miss Meadows, I ’speck,” suggested Uncle Remus, as the old African paused to rub his chin.

  “ ’E no lub Miss Meadows nuttin’ ’t all!” exclaimed Daddy Jack, emphatically. “ ’E bin lub turrer noung leddy fum dat. ’E is bin lub werry nice young leddy. ’E lub ’um hard, ’e lub ’um long, un ’e is gwan try fer mek dem noung leddy marry wit’ ’im. Noung leddy seem lak ’e no look ’pon B’er Rabbit, un dis is bin-a mek B’er Rabbit feel werry bad all da day long. ’E moof ’way off by ’ese’f; ’e lose ’e fat, un ’e heer is bin-a come out.6 Bumbye,7 ’e see one ole Affiky mans wut is bin-a hunt in da fiel’ fer root en yerrub fer mek ’e met’cine truck. ’E see um, un he go toze um, Affiky mans open ’e y-eye big; ’e ’stonish’. ’E say:

  “ ‘Ki, B’er Rabbit! You’ he’lt’8 is bin-a-gone; ’e bin-a gone un lef’ you. Wut mekky you is look so puny lak dis? Who is bin hu’t-a you’ feelin’?’

  “B’er Rabbit lahf wit’ dry grins. ’E say:

  “ ‘Shoo! I bin got well. Ef you is see me wun I sick fer true, ’twill mekky you heer9 stan’ up, I skeer you so.’

  “Affiky mans, ’e mek B’er Rabbit stick out ’e tongue; ’e is count B’er Rabbit pulse. ’E shekky ’e head; ’e do say:

  “ ‘Hi, B’er Rabbit! Wut all dis? You is bin ketch-a da gal-fever, un ’e strak in ’pon you’ gizzud.’

  “Den B’er Rabbit, ’e is tell-a da Affiky mans ’bout dem noung leddy wut no look toze ’im, un da Affiky mans, ’e do say ’e bin know gal sem10 lak dat, ’e is bin shum11 befo’. ’E say ’e kin fix all dem noung leddy lak dat. B’er Rabbit, ’e is feel so good, ’e jump up high; ’e is bin crack ’e heel; ’e shekky da Affiky mans by de han’.

  “Affiky mans, ’e say B’er Rabbit no kin git da gal ’cep’ ’e is mek ’im one cha’m-bag. ’E say ’e mus’ git one el’phan’ tush,12 un ’e mus’ git one ’gater toof, un ’e mus’ git one rice-bud bill.13 B’er Rabbit werry glad ’bout dis, un ’e hop way fum dey-dey.14

  “ ’E hop, ’e run, ’e jump all nex’ day night, un bumbye ’e see one great big el’phan’ come breakin’ ’e way troo da woots. B’er Rabbit, ’e say:

  “ ‘Ki! Oona15 big fer true! I bin-a yeddy talk16 ’bout dis in me y-own countree. Oona big fer true; too big fer be strong.’

  “El’phan’ say: ‘See dis!’

  “ ’E tek pine tree in ’e s
nout; ’e pull um by da roots; ’e toss um way off. B’er Rabbit say:

  “ ‘Hi! dem tree come ’cause you bin high; ’e no come ’cause you bin strong.’

  “El’phan’ say: ‘See dis!’

  “ ’E rush troo da woots; ’e fair teer um down. B’er Rabbit say:

  “ ‘Hoo! dem is bin-a saplin wey you ’stroy. See da big pine? Oona no kin ’stroy dem.’

  “El’phan’ say: ‘See dis!’

  “ ’E run ’pon da big pine; da big pine is bin too tough. El’phan’ tush stick in deer fer true; da big pine hol’ um fas’. B’er Rabbit git-a dem tush; ’e fetch um wey da Affiky mans lif. Affiky mans say el’phan’ is bin too big fer be sma’t. ’E say ’e mus’ haf one ’gater toof fer go wit el’phan’ tush.