Animal Story: Rabbit and the Tar Wolf (Cherokee, Collected by James Mooney)

Native American Literature: Trickster Tales English II CP Ms. Kucinski

Characters such as Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote are both generally known as “Tricksters”. They are trickster characters, who often end up being tricked themselves. Wile E. Coyote was actually based upon Coyote stories of Native tribes. I know this because the daughter of Friz Freleng, one of the creators of many of the Warner Brothers cartoon characters, was in Seattle in 2000 and told an audience that her father consciously and deliberately modeled Wile E. Coyote after those stories. In one such story, Coyote offends a Rolling Rock, which then crushes him. He often ends up getting shot, stabbed, pierced with arrows, crushed, falling from great heights, burned, and so on. Another trickster character that shows up a lot in Native stories is Rabbit, who has his modern day counterpart in Bugs Bunny. These stories from various Native tribes have hugely influenced our culture in a lot of ways, and some of the stories are very well-known to you, but you may not have known they were of Native origin. So, over the course of this unit, we’re going to read some Native stories about animal-people, about human people, and about the origin of the stars and the world. These stories were not usually written down until about the 19th century; they were largely passed down through the centuries verbally, oral traditions, because many Native people did not have any written language or alphabet, only spoken languages. This changed when Europeans invaded, and so with the introduction of written Native alphabets and languages and the teaching of English to Native people, these stories, centuries old, were finally written down. They were meant, however, to be told aloud. We’re not going to read the animal-stories aloud, however, because to do that there must be snow on the ground. Telling animal stories is not something that can be done any time of the year. You have to wait until the animals are asleep, hibernating, in the wintertime, otherwise you run the risk of their being able to overhear you and they’ll take offense, since the stories in which they appear often make them look foolish and they are the butt of the joke. But, we will read them silently to ourselves and discuss them in groups.

Animal Story: Rabbit and the Tar Wolf (Cherokee, collected by James Mooney)

Once there was such a long spell of dry weather that there was no more water in the creeks and springs, and the animals held a council to see what to do about it. They decided to dig a well, and all agreed to help except the Rabbit, who was a lazy fellow, and said, “I don’t need to dig for water. The dew on the grass is enough for me.” The others did not like this, but they went to work together and dug their well. They noticed that the Rabbit kept sleek and lively, although it was still dry weather and the water was getting low in the well. They said, “That tricky Rabbit steals our water at night,” so they made a wolf of pine gum and tar and set it up by the well to scare the thief. That night the Rabbit came, as he had been coming every night, to drink enough to last him all next day. He saw the queer black thing by the well and said, “Who’s there?” but the tar wolf said nothing. He came nearer, but the wolf never moved, so he grew braver and said, “Get out of my way or I’ll strike you.” Still the wolf never moved and the Rabbit came up and struck it with his paw, but the gum held his foot and it stuck fast. Now he was angry and said, “Let me go or I’ll kick you.” Still the wolf said nothing. Then the Rabbit struck again with his hind foot, so hard that it was caught in the gum and he could not move, and there he stuck until the animals came for water in the morning. When they found the thief was Rabbit they had great sport over him for a while and then got ready to kill him, but as soon as he was unfastened from the tar wolf he managed to get away.

Animal Story: How Rabbit Fooled Alligator (Creek)

Long ago, the Creek nation lived mostly in the area of Georgia and Florida. Tribal storytellers loved to relate the following legend over and over to their young people, who loved to hear it again and again.

When the animals talked with each other just like people do today, a very handsome alligator lay sunning himself luxuriously on a log in which we now call the Florida Everglades. Then along came Mr. Rabbit, who said to him, “Mr. Handsome Alligator, have you ever seen the devil?”

“No, Mr. Rabbit, but I am not afraid of the devil. Are you?” replied Mr. Alligator.

“Well now, Mr. A., I did see the devil. Do you know what he said about you?” asked Rabbit.

“Now, just what did the devil have to say about me?” Alligator replied.

“The devil said that you are afraid of him,” said Rabbit. “Besides, he said you would not even look at him.”

“Rubbish,” said Alligator. “I know that I am not afraid of the devil and I am not afraid to look at him. Please tell him so for me the next time you see him.” “I do not think you are willing to crawl up the hill the day after tomorrow and allow me to introduce you to the devil himself,” said Rabbit.

“ Oh, yes, I am willing and ready to go with you,” replied Alligator. “Let us go tomorrow.”

“That is just fine with me,” replied Rabbit. “But Mr. A., when you see some smoke rising somewhere, do not be afraid. It is a sign that the devil is moving about and will soon be on his way.”

“You do not have to worry about me,” said Alligator. “I told you I am not afraid of the devil.”

“When you see the friendly birds flying about, and the deer running at a gallop, do not be afraid,” said Rabbit.

“Don’t you be concerned, because I will not be afraid,” repeated Alligator.

“ If you hear some fire crackling and it comes closer to you, do not be scared,” said Rabbit. “If the grasses near you begin to smoke, do not be scared. The devil is only wandering about. Then is the time for you to get a good look at him when the heat is hottest.”

After Rabbit’s final words of wisdom, he left Alligator sunning himself.

Next day, Rabbit returned and asked Alligator to crawl up the hill, following him. Rabbit led him to the very top and directed him to lie in the tallest grass. Then Rabbit left Alligator, laughing to himself all the way down the hill, because he had led Alligator to the farthest place away from his home in the water.

On his way, Rabbit came to a smoldering stump. He picked up a piece, carrying it back to the high grass, where he made a fire so the wind blew it toward Alligator.

Soon the fire surrounded the place, burning closer and closer to Alligator. Rabbit then ran to a sandy knoll and sat down to watch the fun, chuckling over the trick he had played on Mr. Alligator.

Only a short time passed when the smoke rose in thick spirals, and the birds flew upward and away. Other animals ran for their lives across the field.

Alligator cried out, “Oh, Mr. Rabbit, where are you?”

“You just lie there quietly,” replied Rabbit. “It’s only the devil prowling about.”

The fire began to roar and spread rapidly. “Oh, Mr. Rabbit, what is that I hear?” asked Alligator. “That’s just the devil breathing hard,” replied Rabbit. “Do not be scared. You will see him soon!”

Rabbit became so amused that he rolled and rolled on the sandy knoll and kicked his heels up in the air with glee.

Soon the grass surrounding Alligator caught fire and began to burn beneath him. Alligator rolled and twisted with pain from his burns.

“ Do not be afraid now, Mr. Alligator,” called Rabbit. “Just be quiet for a little while longer, and the devil will be there for you to get a firsthand look at him.”

Alligator could not stand any more toasting! He started to crawl as fast as he could down the hillside toward the water. He wriggled through the burning grass, snapping his jaws, rolling in pain, and choking from the smoke.

Rabbit, upon his sandy knoll, laughed and laughed, jumping up and down with delight at the trick he had played on Alligator.

“Wait a minute, Mr. A. Don’t be in such a hurry. You said you were not afraid of the devil,” called Rabbit.

By that time Alligator had reached his home in the water, tumbling in to stop the pain of his roasted skin.

Never again did Mr. Handsome Alligator trust that trickster, Mr. Rabbit, or any of his family, ever! Name: ______Block: ______

TRICKSTER TALES

Characters:

General themes:

Conflict:

Resolution:

Examples of humor:

Examples of Irony:

Protagonist:

Antagonist: Copy down the definitions of the following literary terms

1. Protagonist: The main character

2. Antagonist: The character that is in conflict with the main character

3. Conflict: An issue in a narrative in which the whole story revolves

4. Resolution: The act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H41zbqrwVo