Brer Rabbit Gets in a Fix
Brer Rabbit Gets in a Fix
Once it happened that Brer Fox found Brer Rabbit fishing in his favorite fishing-place, and he was so angry that he pounced on Brer Rabbit and nearly caught him. But Brer Rabbit was just a little bit too quick, and he got away, leaving a tuft of his fur in Brer Fox’s claws.
Brer Fox was so excited to think how nearly he had caught Brer Rabbit that he raced after him at top speed. Brer Fox could go as fast as a race- horse when he liked, and he meant to catch Brer Rabbit this time.
There were no rabbit-holes near the fishing-place, and Brer Rabbit was in a bad way, for there was nowhere he could hide. He just ran on and on, lippitty-clippitty, hoping to find a thick bush or hole.
But there was nothing at all, Brer Fox was getting nearer and nearer. At last Brer Rabbit spied Brer Wolf’s house in the gutter-pipe by the side of the house and sat on the roof. Brer Fox stopped and looked up. The gutter-pipe wouldn’t bear his weight _ he could see that – but all the same he had got Brer Rabbit very nicely caught! A ladder would get him down all right, and then he would pop him into a pan and stew him for dinner. Oho!
Brer Wolf came out to see what all the noise was about, and he was mighty astonished to see Brer Rabbit sitting up on his roof, panting and puffing, and Brer Fox down below, snarling in delight.
‘I’ve got old Brer Rabbit at last!’ said Brer Fox. ‘Have you a pan big enough to stew him in, Brer Wolf?
‘No, I haven’t,’ said Brer Wolf. ‘He looks pretty fat to me. He’ll need a bigger pan than I have.’
‘Well, will you just keep watch on him to see he doesn’t escape,’ said Brer Fox, ‘and I’ll go and get my biggest pan.’
Off went Brer Fox at a run and Brer Wolf sat down in his garden, his gleaming eyes fixed on Brer Rabbit. But Brer Rabbit didn’t seem at all worried. He just sat up on the roof and washed his ears for a little while, and then he began to sniff about round the chimney nearby. Presently Brer Wolf heard him scraping at a tile, and pretty soon it came loose.
‘Hey, Brer Rabbit, what are you doing?’ shouted Brer Wolf. ‘You leave my roof alone.’
All right, all right, Brer Wolf,’ said Brer Rabbit. ‘I just thought there was something under this tile, that’s all.’
‘What do you mean something under the tile?’ asked Brer Wolf.
‘Oh, just something,’ answered Brer Rabbit, scraping the tile back into place. Just then something fell down the roof and bounced near Brer Wolf. It was a piece of money! Brer Wolf pounced on it and looked at it in surprise.
‘What was that?’ asked Brer Rabbit, peering over the edge of the roof.
‘It’s a piece of money!’ cried Brer Wolf. ‘My, Brer Rabbit. It must have come from under that tile!’
‘Or it might have dropped out of my pocket,’ said Brer Rabbit. ‘You throw it back to me, Brer Wolf.’
‘Ho, ho, you think you’ll rob me of secret money hidden under my roof, do you?’ said Brer Wolf. ‘No, I’m not so stupid as that, Brer Rabbit. I’m going to get a ladder and come up there to see what’s hidden under that, Brer Rabbit. I’m going to get a ladder and come up there to see what’s hidden under that loose tile by the chimney. Whatever’s there is mine, because the roof is mine!’
Brer Wolf took up his ladder, which was nearby and leaned it against the roof. He climbed up and was soon sitting beside Brer Rabbit.
‘Now, where’s that tile?’ he asked him.
‘It’s just here by the chimney, said Brer Rabbit, and he showed Brer Wolf the tile he had moved. ‘Hole on to the chimney, Brer Wolf, and you can scrape away the tile with your other hand.’
Brer Wolf held on tightly to the chimney, and began to scratch away at the tile. It was hard to move and he pushed away, quite forgetting all about Brer Rabbit. Brer Rabbit slid down to the edge of the roof, got on to the ladder, and was down it in a twink! He made his way to a bramble-bush, where he knew there was a hole, and there he sat, his whiskers shaking with delight.
‘Heyo, Brer Wolf!’ he shouted. ‘Where’s Brer Rabbit?’
Brer Wolf almost fell off the roof in horror when he saw Brer Rabbit was gone, and Brer Fox down below looking mighty angry.
‘Has Brer Rabbit gone?’ he said at last.
Brer Fox nearly had a fit. When he could speak he almost choked with rage. ‘Do you mean to tell me that you let Brer Rabbit go when you knew I’d gone to fetch a pan to stew him in?’ he shouted. ‘And anyway what are you doing up on the roof, Brer Wolf, scratching away like mad?’
‘Oh, I think there’s a fortune hidden some-where about this chimney,’ said Brer Wolf. ‘Brer Rabbit got this tile loose and piece of money fell down to the ground. Come on up, ‘Brer Fox, and don’t look so angry down there. If we can find a fortune what does it matter about losing skinny creature like Brer Rabbit.’
‘He wasn’t skinny,’ said Brer Fox, climbing up the ladder. ‘Well, Brer Wolf, if you’ll share your good fortune with me, I’ll say no more about you letting Brer Rabbit go.’
Soon the tile came loose and fell to the ground and smashed. The two on the roof put their paws down to find the hidden gold they expected – but there was none there! No, not a single piece of money was to be found!
‘Brer Rabbit’s been telling you stories!’ cried Brer Fox, in rage. ‘There’s nothing there!’
‘I’ve been telling no stories!’ said Brer Rabbit’s voice from the garden. ‘Didn’t I say, Brer Wolf, that that piece of money must have fallen out of my pocket? Well, it did!’
Brer Wolf and Brer Wolf glared at Brer Rabbit in a fury – and as they sat up there, glaring, Brer Rabbit kicked the ladder so that it fell flat on the ground.
‘You’d better stay up on the roof a bit longer,’ he grinned. ‘I’m not going to be chased home by two great bullies like you! I’m going home slowly. Goodbye, Brer Fox! Goodbye, Brer Wolf!’
And with that off went Brer Rabbit, sauntering along as if he had all the day before him to get home. As for Brer Fox and Brer Wolf, there they had to stay, up on the roof, and it was a mighty long time before they managed to get down!
