Br'er Rabbit - African American

Howdy. My name is Br’er Rabbit. I have long, long ears and a little twitchy nose. I love to hippity-hop in the warm sunshine where the grass is so green and the berries are so sweet. I am a small rabbit, yes I am. But I am very clever. There is a sneaky fox named Br’er Fox who always tries to catch me. He runs fast, fast, fast. But my brain is faster. This is the story of how I tricked him good, a tale folks call Br'er Rabbit and the Tar Baby.

One sunny day, I was hopping down the road. Hop, hop, hop. I saw a little doll sitting on a log. It was black and shiny and looked mighty strange. It was a Tar Baby. 'Hello.' I said in a big, friendly voice. The Tar Baby said nothing. It just sat there. I said, 'Howdy.' again, a little louder. Still, the Tar Baby said nothing. I got a little mad and poked the doll. Oh no. My paw was stuck. It was so sticky. I kicked the doll with my foot. Oh no. My foot was stuck, too. I was stuck, stuck, stuck. Just then, who jumped out? It was Br’er Fox. He was laughing and laughing because he had caught me.

Br'er Fox was so happy he caught me. But I had a secret, clever idea. I started to cry. 'Oh, Br’er Fox.' I said. 'You can do anything you want with me. But please, oh please, do not throw me in that briar patch.' The briar patch had lots of pointy thorns. Br’er Fox thought, 'Aha. That must be the worst place for a rabbit.' So he picked me up. He swung me around and around. And he threw me right into the middle of the briar patch. But that briar patch is my home. The thorns can’t hurt me. I wiggled my nose, hopped away, and called back, 'I was born and raised in a briar patch, Br’er Fox.' And that is how a small rabbit can be very, very smart.