Famous Last Words: Week 7

Well… this week turned out to be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Monday-Thursday was quite normal: class, gym, sleep. But I spent most of the week looking forward to Friday. February 20th is a special day for me and my girlfriend. We celebrated our 7th anniversary. We don’t really like to go crazy and spend money on a lot though (college kids), so we went to Chili’s for dinner and then just watched a movie together in our apartment.

We don’t go out and do fun things a lot. We really just enjoy being in each other’s company so it doesn’t matter what were doing as long as we’re together.

Saturday I woke up and watched the Sooners basketball team play the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. The game was much closer than it should have been, and Tech actually rallied to force overtime, but the Sooners pulled out a win. Now they’re off until next saturday.

So what really made this week different was on Saturday afternoon I went to play a little basketball at the huff. I’ve had a slight tear in my meniscus since last November, and it has hurt, but it hasn’t been anything serious. Well while playing yesterday, I tore my knee up bad. I planted awkwardly, and my knee twisted awkwardly. I fell on the ground and immediately knew something was wrong. I drove home and tried to just lay down and take some anti-inflammatory stuff to help, but it was really bad, and I had a hard time sleeping that night. So Sunday morning my girlfriend drove me to the hospital and they gave me a brace and some pain meds (which are helping me write this post right now). That’s all I know right now, but maybe I’ll meow mention this more in next week’s post. Praying for a snow day tomorrow…

(Image Information: A personal photo from February 2012)

Essay: Brer Rabbit's Wits

(Image Information: Brer Rabbit; Web Source Wikimedia)

In the Tales of Brer Rabbit I, there are many stories that include Brer Rabbit, but there are almost as many that do not have Brer Rabbit. Something that is present in each and every story, is the motif of intelligence. In each story, the smartest animal will be the one who comes out triumphant. There are several times where the smartest animal in one story is not the smartest in the next (e.g. “Mr. Fox in The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story” and Brer Rabbit in “How Mr. Rabbit was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox”). However, most of the time it is Brer Rabbit coming out on top, and Mr. Fox falling short.

One of the most interesting stories, “Old Mr. Rabbit, He’s a Good Fisherman,” many of the animals are working together, but Brer Rabbit is tired and so he finds an excuse to take a break. He finds a bucket, but ends up trapped at the bottom of the well. When Brer Fox sees him at the bottom of the well, Brer Rabbit says he is “fishing for suckers,” alluding to Brer Fox, and Brer Rabbit dupes Brer Fox into getting into the other empty bucket, causing him to fall to the bottom while Brer Rabbit rises to the top and escapes.

Another story worth mentioning is “Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear”. In this story, Brer Rabbit eats food from Brer Fox’s garden, but Brer Fox cannot prove it is the rabbit’s doing, so Brer Fox sets a trap, which works on Brer Rabbit the next day. While hanging in the trap, Brer Rabbit is approached by a curious Brer Bear. Brer Rabbit deceives Brer Bear and says he is making a dollar a day by being a scarecrow in Brer Fox’s garden. Brer Bear, eager to make some money, willingly takes Brer Rabbit’s place in the trap. Again, Brer Rabbit makes a clean getaway.

The wits in the Tales of Brer Rabbit keep me very interested in these stories. They make you really eager to see what is going to happen next.

Storytelling Week 7: Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Kitties

One day, Mr. Fox was walking through a very dense portion of the woods and he saw a black and white tail sticking out from one of the berry bushes next to the trail. He grabbed the tail and pulled out a kitten.

“Ahhhhh!” The kitten screamed as several blueberries dropped from her already purple face. “Please Mr. Fox, do not eat me. I am just a little kitten, but if you let me go, I can take you further into the woods where there is one of my sisters. She is much fatter than I.”

After pondering this option for several moments, Mr. Fox thought if he could have an even fatter cat, then why not. He was growing hungry, but he could last a little longer. “Ok little one,” he soothingly spoke, “take me to this kitten, and I’ll let you go.” So the two went even deeper into the forest. They went even past the trail until finally they came upon another kitten, sleeping on a low hanging branch.

The smallest kitten was right, Mr. Fox thought to himself, she is much bigger. So he let the smallest go, and grabbed the fatter cat from the tree branch. The kitten awoke and knew immediately what was happening.

“Please don’t eat me Mr. Fox,” begged the kitten, “I may look appetizing to you, but if you can believe it, I can take you to another cat like me. She is even more plump than I. You could eat her and be full for a week.”

(Image Information: One fat cat; a personal photo from 2014)

Mr. Fox was very hungry at this point, and growing a little irritated, but his mouth watered as this kitten told him about an even bigger meal. “Fine, show me the way little fatty.”

So the two delved deeper and deeper into the woods. Until finally the forest was so dense that Mr. Fox was having a hard time seeing what was in front of him. “Just a few more feet,” said the kitten, “Your prize should be inside the bush covered with red berries. Go just around this tree and see for yourself.”

Mr. Fox peered around the tree, and right there in front of him was a red-berried bush. Salivating at its sight, he jumped right into the bush, and tore it to shreds. Once all the berries were on the ground, Mr. Fox realized that there was no kitten this time. Desperately going back around the tree, he planned to eat the fatty that had led him to the bush; however, the kitten was nowhere to be found. Mr. Fox had been outsmarted by three little kittens. Now starving and lost, Mr. Fox began his trek, hoping to make his way back to the trail.

Author's Note: This is loosely based on Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs. In this story, several frogs trick Brer Fox into looking into a lake. Thinking he sees another fox in the lake (actually seeing his reflection), Brer Fox touches the lake and falls into the water. The frogs laugh at him as he is almost drowned. In this version, I changed the frogs to cats because frogs suck meow.

Bibliography: "Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs", from Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, by Joel Chandler Harris (1881)

Reading Diary B: Brer Rabbit I

Here are some notes on Brer Rabbit I

Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs

Some frogs trick Brer Fox into looking at the pond that Brer Terrapin is in. Then, Brer Fox, being stupid Brer Fox, tried to shake hands with his reflection. He fell into the water and got out just before the terrapin could drown him for good.

Old Mr. Rabbit, He’s a Good Fisherman

While all the animals are working one day, Brer Rabbit gets tired and makes an excuse to sneak off, looking for somewhere to rest. Finally, he finds a bucket hanging above a well, and decides to lay in there. Once he gets in, the bucket falls to the bottom of the well, and another bucket rises to the top. Brer Fox sees this happen, and goes to the well, asking Brer Rabbit what he’s doing. “Fishing for suckers,” he says. Which is funny because he ends up tricking Brer Fox into getting into the bucket, and because the fox is heavier, he falls to the bottom and Brer Rabbit returns to the top of the well. Again, the rabbit outsmarts the fox.

A Story about the Little Rabbits

While both Brer Rabbit and their mother were out, the little rabbits were all alone. Brer Fox came in at this time and planned to eat some of the children. Remembering Brer Wolf, he knew he had to come up with an excuse to eat the children. So he sent them to break off a piece of sugar cane, knowing they weren’t strong enough. Eventually a bird told them to naw off a piece, and they did. Then, Brer Fox sent them to get fresh water with a sieve. After much time had passed, the same bird told them to fill the sieve with clay so there were no leaks. Now, Brer Fox was getting angry, so he told them to move a massive log onto the fire. The bird told the children to roll the log. At this time Brer Rabbit returned home, and Brer Fox left.

(Image Information: Brer Rabbit and his young; Web Source: Wren's Nest)

Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear

This time Brer Fox successfully catches Brer Rabbit, but Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Bear into taking his place in the trap, saying that he was making a dollar a minute as a scarecrow. Then, Brer Fox saw Brer Bear in the trap, and whopped him. After he got down from the trap, Brer Rabbit had already gone to hide from Brer Bear.

Reading Diary A: Brer Rabbit I

Here are some notes on Brer Rabbit I

The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story

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.

(Image Information: Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby; Web Source: Wikimedia)

How Mr. Rabbit was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox

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.

Mr. Fox is “Outdone” by Mr. Buzzard

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.

The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf

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.