Here are some notes on Brer Rabbit I
In this tale (rabbit pun) Brer Rabbit is fooled by Brer Fox. Brer Fox sets out a doll made of tar. Then, brer rabbit comes across said tar-baby and thinks it is real. He tries to initiate a conversation several times with the tar-baby, and every time he gets no response. He grows angrier and angrier, until he hits the tar-baby. Then he gets stuck to it. Once his entire body is stuck to the tar-baby, Brer Fox pops out and laughs at him and says he expects him for dinner soon. The story ends with Brer Fox outsmarting Brer Rabbit.
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| (Image Information: Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby; Web Source: Wikimedia) |
In the continuation of the tar-baby story, Brer Fox now told Brer Rabbit that he was going to kill and eat him. Brer Rabbit uses his smarts, begging for Brer Fox to do whatever he pleased, but not the throw him into the brierpatch. After several times of saying that, Brer Fox decided to throw him into the brierpatch, and it took no time at all for Brer Rabbit to escape. “Bred and bawn in the brier-patch, Brer Fox,” he taunted. This story shows that Brer Rabbit is far wiser than Brer Fox, and so he should have nothing to worry about.
Brer Fox uses Brer Buzzard to watch for Brer Rabbit. When Brer Fox returns, Brer Buzzard decides to play a little joke on the fox, so he tells him that Brer Rabbit is in the tree napping. After Brer Fox cuts down almost the entire tree, Brer Fox sees the buzzard laughing and realize he had been tricked. Then, he grabs Brer Buzzard and is planning to kill him, but Brer Buzzard breaks free and gets away, laughing. Even the buzzard is smarter than Brer Fox.
Brer Wolf spends far too much time with Brer Fox, and at the halfway point of this first set of stories, he pays for it. Brer Wolf, being attacked by dogs, asks for help from Brer Rabbit. Brer Rabbit hides him in a big chest. Then proceeds to boil Mr. Wolf alive. He cooks Brer Wolf, and then holds a big feast for all his neighbors.
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