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Brother Fox Tales

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Broder Fox Made the Wonderful Tar-Baby

Brother Fox could not catch Brother Rabbit, and he never caught him. But once Brother Rabbit was in great danger. This is how it happened.

One day Brother Fox decided to use against Brother Rabbit the same trick which Brother Rabbit used against the rattlesnake. He got some tar, and began to work, and soon he made a dummy. This dummy looked like a little man, and Brother Fox called it "Tar-Baby".

Then he took this Tar-Baby and put it down near the big road, and hid in the blackthorn nearby. He didn't wait long, because soon Brother Rabbit came and saw the Tar-Baby. Brother Rabbit wanted to speak to this funny black animal who was sitting near the road with a hat on his head.

"Good morning!" said Brother Rabbit. "The weather is very nice to-day, isn't it?"

The Tar-Baby did not say anything, and Brother Fox lay low.

"How are you to-day?" said Brother Rabbit.

Brother Fox lay low, and the Tar-Baby did not say anything.

"How do you do, then? Are you deaf?" said Brother Rabbit. "Because if you are, I can speak louder."

The Tar-Baby did not say anything, and Brother Fox did not move.

"You are not polite," said Brother Rabbit, "and I shall give you a lesson. I shall teach you how to speak to other people. If you do not take off that hat and say 'How do you do?' I shall give you a very good lesson."

Brother Fox smiled to himself, and the Tar-Baby did not say a word.

Brother Rabbit said, "How do you do?" three or four times more, but the Tar-Baby did not say anything.

Then Brother Rabbit got very angry and knocked the Tar-Baby with his fist. And that was where the danger was waiting for him. He knocked the Tar-Baby, and his fist stuck. The tar held him, and Brother Rabbit could not do anything because the Tar-Baby was very heavy. The Tar-Baby did not move and did not say a word; and Brother Fox lay low.

"If you do not let me go, I'll knock you again," said Brother Rabbit and he knocked the Tar-Baby with his other hand, and his other fist stuck too.

The Tar-Baby did not say anything, and Brother Fox lay low.

"Let me go," cried Brother Rabbit, "or I shall knock you with my head, and that will be very bad for you." So he knocked the Tar-Baby with his head, and his head stuck too. Then Brother Fox crawled out of the blackthorn and came up.

"How do you do, Brother Rabbit?" said Brother Fox. "What are you doing here?" And he rolled on the ground and laughed and laughed, till he could laugh no more.

"I think you will have dinner with me today, Brother Rabbit. I have some sweet roots this time, and I hope you will like them," and, Brother Fox laughed again. "Now I shall go and gather some wood and build a good big fire, because I am going to roast you without a frying-pan to-day," said Brother Fox.

Brother Rabbit was in great danger, but he was not afraid. He only pretended to be afraid. And. he said:

“You can do anything with me, Brother Fox, please, do not throw me into those blackthorn. You can roast me, but please, do not throw me the blackthorn."

Brother Fox wanted to do something very Brother Rabbit. He wanted to hurt him very much. When he heard Brother Rabbit's words, he said:

"It is too much trouble to build a fire. I think I shall hang you."

"Hang me or drown me, Brother Fox," said Brother Rabbit, "but do not throw me into those blackthorn."

But Brother Fox remembered that Judge Bear could not drown Brother Rabbit, because the water in the river was shallow. So he said:

"I have no string to hang you, and there is no water near. I think I shall skin you.”

"Skin me, Brother Fox," said Brother Rabbit, "and cut off my legs. Do anything with me, but please, do not throw me into those blackthorn."

Then Brother Fox took Brother Rabbit by the hind legs, tore him away from the Tar-Baby, and threw him into the middle of the blackthorn. At first there was a great noise in the blackthorn, and Brother Fox stood and waited. "What is going to happen?" he thought.

By and by he heard a voice. Somebody was calling him. On the other side of the blackthorn he saw Brother Rabbit. He was sitting on a log and combing the tar out of his hair. And he cried out to Brother Fox:

"Didn't you know that I always played in the blackthorn when I was little, Brother Fox? I always played in the blackthorn!"

Then Brother Fox understood all. "Brother Rabbit is too clever for me," he said, and he decided to leave him alone for a while and wait for a better chance.

This is the end of the story of the wonderful Tar-Baby; it was one of the last lessons that Brother Rabbit had to learn, but it was not the last lesson that he gave to Brother Fox.

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