No.^SOr' EASTERN CHEROKEE FOLKTALES — KILPATRICK 405 



When the Fox saw the thkd "dead" rabbit lying there, he thought: 

 "Now! That's the third rabbit. If I get them all, they would make a 

 nice rabbit-mash." So he put his fish down, and went to get the two 

 other rabbits. 



While he was away, the Rabbit ran off with the fish. 



When the Fox arrived where the "second" rabbit had lain, it was 

 gone. The "first" rabbit also was gone. 



Then the Fox realized that he had been tricked, but he did not 

 care because he believed that he could go back where he had left them 

 and get the "third" rabbit and the fish. 



When he arrived at the place where he had expected to find them, 

 they, too, were gone. 



So he had nothing at all. 



2.— THE RABBIT DUPES THE WILDCAT* 



Upon another occasion the Rabbit was caught by the Wildcat. 



The Rabbit said, "Let's go out and kill a deer instead of me. 

 I know where the deer feed. They eat moss in the river, and they are 

 down there in the river right now." 



"Deer?" said the Wildcat. "Do you eat deer?" 



"Certainly," said the Rabbit. "I catch deer all the time." 



The Wildcat believed him. So the two animals went down to the 

 river where they saw many deer, large and small, feeding on moss. 



There was a tree overhanging the water where the deer were feeding. 

 The Rabbit climbed this tree. There was a deer directly beneath it. 

 The Rabbit let himself drop upon the deer's back. The deer shook 

 off the Rabbit, who fell into the water and let himself drift downstream 

 with the current. He climbed out of the water on the other side of the 

 river, and thus got away from the Wildcat. 



The WUdcat leaped on a very small deer and had it for his food 

 instead of the Rabbit.*^ 



3.— THE RABBIT DUPES THE OTTER 



Otters eat rabbits. 



Once the Otter had caught the Rabbit and wanted to eat him. 

 "Don't eat me," the Rabbit said. "We are relatives." 

 The Otter was doubtful because the Rabbit looked so different 

 from himself, but the Rabbit maintained that what he said was true. 

 "Are you sure that we are kinsfolk?" asked the Otter. 

 "Why, yes — quite sm^e!" the Rabbit said. 



« While we do not find this story in the published literature, its affinity to the tale wherein the Rabbit 

 transfers the Wildcat's predatory intentions to a flock of turkeys is obvious (cf. Mooney, 1900, pp. 269-270; 

 Kilpatrlck and Kilpatrick, 1964, pp. 32-35; see also Swanton, 1929, pp. 47-49, 109, 200, 259, and Speck, 1909, 

 p. 163). 



