{"id":101,"date":"2023-02-22T16:51:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T16:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology\/?post_type=chapter&p=101"},"modified":"2023-05-10T20:25:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T20:25:04","slug":"4-4-brer-rabbit","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/chapter\/4-4-brer-rabbit\/","title":{"raw":"4.4 Brer Rabbit","rendered":"4.4 Brer Rabbit"},"content":{"raw":"

The Wonderful Tar Baby Story<\/h1>\r\nNote: This text comes from Joel Chandler Harris\u2019s <\/em>Uncle Remus: His Songs and Saying, published in 1881. This text needs to be handled carefully on account of its racist depictions of African Americans in the post-Civil War South. Joel Chandler Harris, a white man, gathered stories told by freedmen in his native Georgia and then compiled them as an anthology. To unite the stories, he created a frame narrative where Uncle Remus, a freed slave, would share these tales in the evenings with a young white boy who would sneak out of his parents\u2019 house to see him. As an example of the racist controversies surrounding this text, Disney in 1946 created a mixed live-action and animated film called <\/em>Song of the South based on these stories, and the film has been plagued with criticism of its racist tropes ever since. It is no longer for sale by Disney. The Splash Mountain theme ride at Disney parks is based on this movie, and as recently as 2022 it is in the process of being phased out of at least some parks on account of its racist past.<\/em>\r\n\r\nScholars have critiqued Harris's role in the popularization of the Uncle Remus stories, arguing that in doing so, he exploited and distorted African American culture. A recently published version of these tales, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tatar, \"reveals how these folktales were hijacked and misappropriated in previous incarnations, egregiously by Joel Chandler Harris, a Southern newspaperman, as well as by Walt Disney, who cannibalized and capitalized on Harris\u2019s volumes by creating cartoon characters drawn from this African American lore\" (Hutchins Center<\/a>). Ultimately, however, these stories <\/em>are vitally important to African American folktales as they are presented by Gates and other African American writers. For additional context, linguist John McWhorter famously chided those who claim that the term \"tar baby\" is a racial slur. Writer Toni Morrison's first novel was eponymously titled Tar Baby\u00a0in reference to these tales.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\r\n\r\nHarris opted to tell these stories in the seeming vernacular accent of the freedmen themselves, which is often difficult for today\u2019s readers to interpret. For that reason, this story is presented twice: first, the story is given using the actual language Harris recorded, out of respect for the culture of African-American freedmen from the postwar era. (It should be noted that Harris's contemporary, African American writer Charles Chestnutt, critiqued Harris's interpretation of African American dialect.[footnote]Gates, Jr. and Tartar, The Annotated African American Folktales, lxxxi[\/footnote]) In the second version, the story is given using more modern terminology.<\/em>\r\n

I. The Wonderful Tar Baby Story<\/h2>\r\n\u201cDidn\u2019t the fox never catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?\u201d asked the little boy the next evening.\r\n\r\n\u201cHe come mighty nigh it, honey, sho\u2019s you born\u2013Brer Fox did. One day atter Brer Rabbit fool \u2018im wid dat calamus root, Brer Fox went ter wuk en got \u2018im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun w\u2019at he call a Tar-Baby, en he tuck dish yer Tar-Baby en he sot \u2018er in de big road, en den he lay off in de bushes fer to see what de news wuz gwine ter be. En he didn\u2019t hatter wait long, nudder, kaze bimeby here come Brer Rabbit pacin\u2019 down de road\u2013lippity-clippity, clippity-lippity\u2013dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit come prancin\u2019 \u2018long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he fotch up on his behime legs like he wuz \u2018stonished. De Tar Baby, she sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018Mawnin\u2019!\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee\u2013\u2018nice wedder dis mawnin\u2019,\u2019 sezee.\r\n\r\n\u201cTar-Baby ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019, en Brer Fox he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018How duz yo\u2019 sym\u2019tums seem ter segashuate?\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.\r\n\r\n\u201cBrer Fox, he wink his eye slow, en lay low, en de Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018How you come on, den? Is you deaf?\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. \u2018Kaze if you is, I kin holler louder,\u2019 sezee.\r\n\r\n\u201cTar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018You er stuck up, dat\u2019s w\u2019at you is,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, sezee, \u2018en I\u2019m gwine ter kyore you, dat\u2019s w\u2019at I\u2019m a gwine ter do,\u2019 sezee.\r\n\r\n\u201cBrer Fox, he sorter chuckle in his stummick, he did, but Tar- Baby ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m gwine ter larn you how ter talk ter \u2018spectubble folks ef hit\u2019s de las\u2019 ack,\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. \u2018Ef you don\u2019t take off dat hat en tell me howdy, I\u2019m gwine ter bus\u2019 you wide open,\u2019 sezee.\r\n\r\n\u201cTar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201cBrer Rabbit keep on axin\u2019 \u2018im, en de Tar-Baby, she keep on sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019, twel present\u2019y Brer Rabbit draw back wid his fis\u2019, he did, en blip he tuck \u2018er side er de head. Right dar\u2019s whar he broke his merlasses jug. His fis\u2019 stuck, en he can\u2019t pull loose. De tar hilt \u2018im. But Tar-Baby, she stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018Ef you don\u2019t lemme loose, I\u2019ll knock you agin,\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, en wid dat he fotch \u2018er a wipe wid de udder han\u2019, en dat stuck. Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019, en Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018Tu\u2019n me loose, fo\u2019 I kick de natchul stuffin\u2019 outen you,\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, but de Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019. She des hilt on, en de Brer Rabbit lose de use er his feet in de same way. Brer Fox, he lay low. Den Brer Rabbit squall out dat ef de Tar-Baby don\u2019t tu\u2019n \u2018im loose he butt \u2018er cranksided. En den he butted, en his head got stuck. Den Brer Fox, he sa\u2019ntered fort\u2019, lookin\u2019 dez ez innercent ez wunner yo\u2019 mammy\u2019s mockin\u2019- birds.\r\n\r\n\u201cHowdy, Brer Rabbit,\u2019 sez Brer Fox, sezee. \u2018You look sorter stuck up dis mawnin\u2019,\u2019 sezee, en den he rolled on de groun\u2019, en laft en laft twel he couldn\u2019t laff no mo\u2019. \u2018I speck you\u2019ll take dinner wid me dis time, Brer Rabbit. I done laid in some calamus root, en I ain\u2019t gwineter take no skuse,\u2019 sez Brer Fox, sezee.\u201d\r\n\r\nHere Uncle Remus paused, and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.\r\n\r\n\u201cDid the fox eat the rabbit?\u201d asked the little boy to whom the story had been told.\r\n\r\n\u201cDat\u2019s all de fur de tale goes,\u201d replied the old man. \u201cHe mout, an den agin he moutent. Some say Judge B\u2019ar come \u2018long en loosed \u2018im\u2013some say he didn\u2019t. I hear Miss Sally callin\u2019. You better run \u2018long.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNote: What follows below is an adapted text.<\/em>\r\n

II. The Wonderful Tar Baby Story<\/h2>\r\n\u201cDidn\u2019t the fox never catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?\u201d asked the little boy the next evening.\r\n\r\n\u201cHe came mighty close to it, honey, sure as you were born\u2013Brer Fox did. One day after Brer Rabbit fooled him with that calamus root, Brer Fox went to work and got him some tar, and mixed with some turpentine, and fixed up a contraption which he called Tar-Baby, and he took this here Tar-Baby and he saw her in the big road, and then he lay off in the bushes to see what the news was going to be. And he did have to wait long, neither, \u2018cause here comes Brer Rabbit pacing down the road\u2013lippity-clippity, clippity-lippity\u2013he\u2019s as sassy as a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit comes prancing along\u00a0 until he spies the Tar-Baby, and then he got up on his hind legs like he was astonished. The Tar Baby, she sat there, she did, and Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018Mornin\u2019!\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says\u2014\u2018Nice weather this mornin\u2019,\u2019 he says.\r\n\r\n\u201cTar-Baby ain\u2019t saying nothing, and Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018How is your health?\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says.\r\n\r\n\u201cBrer Fox, he winks his eye slowly, and lay low, and the Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t saying nothing.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018How you come on, then? Are you deaf?\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says. \u2018\u2018Cause if you are, I can holler louder,\u2019 he says.\r\n\r\n\u201cTar-Baby stay still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018You are stuck up, that's what you are,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says, \u2018and I\u2019m going to cure you, that\u2019s what I\u2019m a-going to do,\u2019 he says.\r\n\r\n\u201cBrer Fox, he sort of chuckles in his stomach, he did, but Tar- Baby ain\u2019t saying nothing.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018I\u2019m going to teach you how to talk to respectable folks if it\u2019s your last act,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says. \u2018If you don\u2019t take off that hat and tell me howdy, I\u2019m going to bust you wide open,\u2019 he says.\r\n\r\n\u201cTar-Baby stay still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201cBrer Rabbit keep on asking him, and the Tar-Baby, she keeps on saying nothing, until presently Brer Rabbit draws back with his fists, he did, and blip he struck her on the side of her head. Right there\u2019s where he broke his molasses jug. His fist stuck, and he can\u2019t pull loose. The tar held him. But Tar-Baby, she stays still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018If you don\u2019t let me loose, I\u2019ll knock you again,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says, and with that he gave her a swipe with his other hand, and that stuck. Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t saying nothing, and Brer Fox, he lay low.\r\n\r\n\u201c\u2018Turn me loose, before I kick the natural stuffing out of you,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says, but the Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t saying nothing. She does hold on, and the Brer Rabbit loses the use of his feet in the same way. Brer Fox, he lay low. Then Brer Rabbit calls out that if the Tar-Baby doesn\u2019t turn him loose he\u2019ll headbutt her side.\u00a0 And then he headbutted, and his head got stuck. Then Brer Fox, he sauntered forth, looking just as innocent as one of your mommy\u2019s mockingbirds.\r\n\r\n\u201cHowdy, Brer Rabbit,\u2019 says Brer Fox, he says. \u2018You look sort of stuck up this mornin\u2019,\u2019 he says, and then he rolled on the ground, and laughed and laughed until he couldn\u2019t laugh anymore. \u2018I expect you\u2019ll take dinner with me this time, Brer Rabbit. I already laid in some calamus root, and I ain\u2019t going to take no excuse,\u2019 says Brer Fox, he says.\u201d\r\n\r\nHere Uncle Remus paused, and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.\r\n\r\n\u201cDid the fox eat the rabbit?\u201d asked the little boy to whom the story had been told.\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s as far as the gale goes,\u201d replied the old man. \u201cHe might\u2019ve, and then again he might not have. Some say Judge Bear came along and loosed him\u2014some say he didn\u2019t. I hear Miss Sally calling. You better run along.\u201d\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nTo cite this reading, use the following format:\r\n\r\nHarris, Joel Chandler. Uncle Remus.<\/em> Appleton and Company, 1881. Full Text Archive, https:\/\/www.fulltextarchive.com\/book\/Uncle-Remus\/<\/a>","rendered":"

The Wonderful Tar Baby Story<\/h1>\n

Note: This text comes from Joel Chandler Harris\u2019s <\/em>Uncle Remus: His Songs and Saying, published in 1881. This text needs to be handled carefully on account of its racist depictions of African Americans in the post-Civil War South. Joel Chandler Harris, a white man, gathered stories told by freedmen in his native Georgia and then compiled them as an anthology. To unite the stories, he created a frame narrative where Uncle Remus, a freed slave, would share these tales in the evenings with a young white boy who would sneak out of his parents\u2019 house to see him. As an example of the racist controversies surrounding this text, Disney in 1946 created a mixed live-action and animated film called <\/em>Song of the South based on these stories, and the film has been plagued with criticism of its racist tropes ever since. It is no longer for sale by Disney. The Splash Mountain theme ride at Disney parks is based on this movie, and as recently as 2022 it is in the process of being phased out of at least some parks on account of its racist past.<\/em><\/p>\n

Scholars have critiqued Harris’s role in the popularization of the Uncle Remus stories, arguing that in doing so, he exploited and distorted African American culture. A recently published version of these tales, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tatar, “reveals how these folktales were hijacked and misappropriated in previous incarnations, egregiously by Joel Chandler Harris, a Southern newspaperman, as well as by Walt Disney, who cannibalized and capitalized on Harris\u2019s volumes by creating cartoon characters drawn from this African American lore” (Hutchins Center<\/a>). Ultimately, however, these stories <\/em>are vitally important to African American folktales as they are presented by Gates and other African American writers. For additional context, linguist John McWhorter famously chided those who claim that the term “tar baby” is a racial slur. Writer Toni Morrison’s first novel was eponymously titled Tar Baby\u00a0in reference to these tales.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Harris opted to tell these stories in the seeming vernacular accent of the freedmen themselves, which is often difficult for today\u2019s readers to interpret. For that reason, this story is presented twice: first, the story is given using the actual language Harris recorded, out of respect for the culture of African-American freedmen from the postwar era. (It should be noted that Harris’s contemporary, African American writer Charles Chestnutt, critiqued Harris’s interpretation of African American dialect.[1]<\/sup><\/a>) In the second version, the story is given using more modern terminology.<\/em><\/p>\n

I. The Wonderful Tar Baby Story<\/h2>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t the fox never catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?\u201d asked the little boy the next evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe come mighty nigh it, honey, sho\u2019s you born\u2013Brer Fox did. One day atter Brer Rabbit fool \u2018im wid dat calamus root, Brer Fox went ter wuk en got \u2018im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun w\u2019at he call a Tar-Baby, en he tuck dish yer Tar-Baby en he sot \u2018er in de big road, en den he lay off in de bushes fer to see what de news wuz gwine ter be. En he didn\u2019t hatter wait long, nudder, kaze bimeby here come Brer Rabbit pacin\u2019 down de road\u2013lippity-clippity, clippity-lippity\u2013dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit come prancin\u2019 \u2018long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he fotch up on his behime legs like he wuz \u2018stonished. De Tar Baby, she sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Mawnin\u2019!\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee\u2013\u2018nice wedder dis mawnin\u2019,\u2019 sezee.<\/p>\n

\u201cTar-Baby ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019, en Brer Fox he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018How duz yo\u2019 sym\u2019tums seem ter segashuate?\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrer Fox, he wink his eye slow, en lay low, en de Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018How you come on, den? Is you deaf?\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. \u2018Kaze if you is, I kin holler louder,\u2019 sezee.<\/p>\n

\u201cTar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You er stuck up, dat\u2019s w\u2019at you is,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, sezee, \u2018en I\u2019m gwine ter kyore you, dat\u2019s w\u2019at I\u2019m a gwine ter do,\u2019 sezee.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrer Fox, he sorter chuckle in his stummick, he did, but Tar- Baby ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I\u2019m gwine ter larn you how ter talk ter \u2018spectubble folks ef hit\u2019s de las\u2019 ack,\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. \u2018Ef you don\u2019t take off dat hat en tell me howdy, I\u2019m gwine ter bus\u2019 you wide open,\u2019 sezee.<\/p>\n

\u201cTar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrer Rabbit keep on axin\u2019 \u2018im, en de Tar-Baby, she keep on sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019, twel present\u2019y Brer Rabbit draw back wid his fis\u2019, he did, en blip he tuck \u2018er side er de head. Right dar\u2019s whar he broke his merlasses jug. His fis\u2019 stuck, en he can\u2019t pull loose. De tar hilt \u2018im. But Tar-Baby, she stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Ef you don\u2019t lemme loose, I\u2019ll knock you agin,\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, en wid dat he fotch \u2018er a wipe wid de udder han\u2019, en dat stuck. Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019, en Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Tu\u2019n me loose, fo\u2019 I kick de natchul stuffin\u2019 outen you,\u2019 sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, but de Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nuthin\u2019. She des hilt on, en de Brer Rabbit lose de use er his feet in de same way. Brer Fox, he lay low. Den Brer Rabbit squall out dat ef de Tar-Baby don\u2019t tu\u2019n \u2018im loose he butt \u2018er cranksided. En den he butted, en his head got stuck. Den Brer Fox, he sa\u2019ntered fort\u2019, lookin\u2019 dez ez innercent ez wunner yo\u2019 mammy\u2019s mockin\u2019- birds.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowdy, Brer Rabbit,\u2019 sez Brer Fox, sezee. \u2018You look sorter stuck up dis mawnin\u2019,\u2019 sezee, en den he rolled on de groun\u2019, en laft en laft twel he couldn\u2019t laff no mo\u2019. \u2018I speck you\u2019ll take dinner wid me dis time, Brer Rabbit. I done laid in some calamus root, en I ain\u2019t gwineter take no skuse,\u2019 sez Brer Fox, sezee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here Uncle Remus paused, and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid the fox eat the rabbit?\u201d asked the little boy to whom the story had been told.<\/p>\n

\u201cDat\u2019s all de fur de tale goes,\u201d replied the old man. \u201cHe mout, an den agin he moutent. Some say Judge B\u2019ar come \u2018long en loosed \u2018im\u2013some say he didn\u2019t. I hear Miss Sally callin\u2019. You better run \u2018long.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note: What follows below is an adapted text.<\/em><\/p>\n

II. The Wonderful Tar Baby Story<\/h2>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t the fox never catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?\u201d asked the little boy the next evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came mighty close to it, honey, sure as you were born\u2013Brer Fox did. One day after Brer Rabbit fooled him with that calamus root, Brer Fox went to work and got him some tar, and mixed with some turpentine, and fixed up a contraption which he called Tar-Baby, and he took this here Tar-Baby and he saw her in the big road, and then he lay off in the bushes to see what the news was going to be. And he did have to wait long, neither, \u2018cause here comes Brer Rabbit pacing down the road\u2013lippity-clippity, clippity-lippity\u2013he\u2019s as sassy as a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit comes prancing along\u00a0 until he spies the Tar-Baby, and then he got up on his hind legs like he was astonished. The Tar Baby, she sat there, she did, and Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Mornin\u2019!\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says\u2014\u2018Nice weather this mornin\u2019,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTar-Baby ain\u2019t saying nothing, and Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018How is your health?\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrer Fox, he winks his eye slowly, and lay low, and the Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t saying nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018How you come on, then? Are you deaf?\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says. \u2018\u2018Cause if you are, I can holler louder,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTar-Baby stay still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You are stuck up, that’s what you are,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says, \u2018and I\u2019m going to cure you, that\u2019s what I\u2019m a-going to do,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrer Fox, he sort of chuckles in his stomach, he did, but Tar- Baby ain\u2019t saying nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I\u2019m going to teach you how to talk to respectable folks if it\u2019s your last act,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says. \u2018If you don\u2019t take off that hat and tell me howdy, I\u2019m going to bust you wide open,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTar-Baby stay still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrer Rabbit keep on asking him, and the Tar-Baby, she keeps on saying nothing, until presently Brer Rabbit draws back with his fists, he did, and blip he struck her on the side of her head. Right there\u2019s where he broke his molasses jug. His fist stuck, and he can\u2019t pull loose. The tar held him. But Tar-Baby, she stays still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018If you don\u2019t let me loose, I\u2019ll knock you again,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says, and with that he gave her a swipe with his other hand, and that stuck. Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t saying nothing, and Brer Fox, he lay low.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Turn me loose, before I kick the natural stuffing out of you,\u2019 says Brer Rabbit, he says, but the Tar-Baby, she ain\u2019t saying nothing. She does hold on, and the Brer Rabbit loses the use of his feet in the same way. Brer Fox, he lay low. Then Brer Rabbit calls out that if the Tar-Baby doesn\u2019t turn him loose he\u2019ll headbutt her side.\u00a0 And then he headbutted, and his head got stuck. Then Brer Fox, he sauntered forth, looking just as innocent as one of your mommy\u2019s mockingbirds.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowdy, Brer Rabbit,\u2019 says Brer Fox, he says. \u2018You look sort of stuck up this mornin\u2019,\u2019 he says, and then he rolled on the ground, and laughed and laughed until he couldn\u2019t laugh anymore. \u2018I expect you\u2019ll take dinner with me this time, Brer Rabbit. I already laid in some calamus root, and I ain\u2019t going to take no excuse,\u2019 says Brer Fox, he says.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here Uncle Remus paused, and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid the fox eat the rabbit?\u201d asked the little boy to whom the story had been told.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s as far as the gale goes,\u201d replied the old man. \u201cHe might\u2019ve, and then again he might not have. Some say Judge Bear came along and loosed him\u2014some say he didn\u2019t. I hear Miss Sally calling. You better run along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

To cite this reading, use the following format:<\/p>\n

Harris, Joel Chandler. Uncle Remus.<\/em> Appleton and Company, 1881. Full Text Archive, https:\/\/www.fulltextarchive.com\/book\/Uncle-Remus\/<\/a><\/p>\n

  1. Gates, Jr. and Tartar, The Annotated African American Folktales, lxxxi ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":46,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-101","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":43,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/101\/revisions\/315"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/43"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/101\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/worldmythology-cccs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}