III
They took Brother Rabbit to the council house, and sent for Great Bear and all the other animals. Soon all came, and the council began. Gray Wolf told that he had seen Brother Rabbit go to the spring, uncover it, get water, and cover the spring up again.
The animals said that Brother Rabbit must be punished, but how they could not decide.
"Burn him alive," said Gray Wolf.
"I am quite willing," Brother Rabbit said, smiling. "Fire is my friend and will not hurt me."
"We might cut off his head," said Brown Terrapin.
"Very well," said the Rabbit, quietly. "Try that. It will not hurt me, for a better head will grow back."
He said he was not afraid of each thing that was mentioned.
"Is there nothing of which you are afraid?" asked Great Bear, at last. "Is there nothing that can hurt you?"
"Of only one thing am I afraid," answered Brother Rabbit, in a low voice. "I am afraid you will turn me loose in the brier patch. Please do not throw me in the brier patch."
"Turn him loose in the brier patch!" cried all the animals.
How frightened Brother Rabbit looked now!
"Oh, Gray Wolf," he begged, "burn me; cut off my head. Do anything else with me, but please don't throw me in the brier patch."
The more he begged, the faster Gray Wolf hurried to the brier patch. The other animals followed close behind. They were all talking about the tricks Brother Rabbit had played on them and how they had never before been able to get even with him.
When they came to the edge of the brier patch, Brother Rabbit begged harder than ever.
"Good Wolf," he cried, "do anything else with me, but don't throw me in the brier patch!"
Gray Wolf laughed and threw Brother Rabbit far into the patch.
Brother Rabbit landed on his feet, and off he ran through the briers. He called back, "Thank you, good Wolf! You threw me right on my trail! I was born and bred in the brier patch. I was born and bred in the brier patch!"
He was running so fast that by the time he said this, he was out of sight.
—THE INDIAN TAR-BABY STORY.
[THE RABBIT AND THE WOLF]
The rabbit liked to play tricks on the other animals. Best of all, he liked to play tricks on the wolf. At last the wolf grew angry and said that he was going to get even with the rabbit.
One day he caught the rabbit coming through a field.
"Now," said the wolf, "I am going to pay you for all the tricks you have played on me. I will cut off your ears and use them for spoons to stir my hominy pot. As soon as I sharpen this stone, off your ears go!"
While the wolf sharpened the stone, he sang in his harsh voice a song somewhat like this:
"Watch me sharpen,
Watch me sharpen;
Soon I am going to cut off your ears.
Sicum, sicum, sicum, sicum,
Sicum, se mi su!"
When he sang,
"Sicum, sicum, sicum, sicum,
Sicum, se mi su!"
the rabbit could almost feel the sharp stone cutting his ears. But he was a brave little rabbit and said nothing.
At last the wolf stopped singing for a moment.
Then the rabbit said, "Brother Wolf, I know a new dance. Don't you wish me to teach it to you?"
"Yes, when I have cut off your ears," said the wolf.
Then he went on singing,
"Sicum, sicum, sicum, sicum,
Sicum, se mi su!"
"After my ears are cut off," said the rabbit, "I can never dance any more."
Now the wolf knew that the rabbit could sing and dance better than any other animal, and he wished very much to learn the new dance. He went on sharpening the stone, but he did not sing while he worked.
After a while he asked, "Is the new dance as pretty as the Snake Dance?"
"Oh, a great deal prettier," answered the rabbit.
"Is it as pretty as the Turkey Dance?"
"Oh, a great deal prettier than the Turkey Dance."
"Is it as pretty as the Eagle Dance?"
"Oh, a great deal prettier than the Eagle Dance."
The wolf asked if the new dance was as pretty as other dances he had seen, and the rabbit said that it was much prettier.
This pleased the wolf, as he wished to have a new dance for the green corn festival.
"You may teach me the dance now," he said. "I can cut off your ears afterward."
"Very well," said the rabbit; "pat your foot to keep time, and watch me while I dance."
So the wolf stood in the middle of the field, patting his foot and shaking a rattle while the rabbit danced around him and sang,
"Watch me dance around the field,
Watch me dance around the field,
Hi, la, hi, la, hi!"
Then the rabbit made a ring in the middle of the field. He said to the wolf, "Now, you dance around this ring, and sing just as I do."
He made a larger ring for himself and danced around just beyond the wolf. The wolf thought that this was the finest dance he had ever seen. He and the rabbit danced faster and faster, and sang louder and louder.
As the rabbit danced, he moved nearer and nearer to the edge of the field. The wolf was dancing so fast and singing so loud that he did not notice this.
The rabbit kept on singing,
"Now I dance on the edge of the field,
Now I dance on the edge of the field,
Hi, la, hi, la, hi!"
At last, Brother Rabbit reached the edge of the field; then he jumped into the blackberry bushes and ran away. The wolf tried to give chase, but he was so dizzy that he could not run. And the rabbit got away without having his ears cut off.
—SOUTHERN INDIAN TALE.
[BLOCK CITY]
What are you able to build with your blocks?
Castles and palaces, temples and docks.
Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,
But I can be happy and building at home.
Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,
There I'll establish a city for me:
A kirk and a mill and a palace beside,
And a harbor as well where my vessels may ride.
Great is the palace with pillar and wall,
A sort of a tower on the top of it all,
And steps coming down in an orderly way
To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.
This one is sailing and that one is moored:
Hark to the song of the sailors on board!
And see on the steps of my palace, the kings
Coming and going with presents and things!
Now I have done with it, down let it go.
All in a moment the town is laid low,
Block upon block lying scattered and free,
What is there left of my town by the sea?
—ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.
[A GOOD PLAY]
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of sofa pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.
We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, "Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;"—
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.
We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.
—ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.