270 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKKK [KTH.AS.s.ia 



only ii niouthful for you, but if you let nie go I'll show you where you 

 can get a whole drove of Turkeys.'' So the Wildeat let him up and 

 went with liini to wh(>re the Turkeys were. 



When the^' eanie near the place the Ralihit said to the Wildcat, 

 ^' Now, you must do just as I say. Lie down as if you were dead and 

 don't move, even if I kic^k you, but when I give the word jump up and 

 catch the largest one there." The Wildcat agreed and stretched out as 

 if dead, while the Kabbit gathered some rotten wood and crunil)led it 

 over his eyes and nose to make them look flyblown, so that the Turkeys 

 would think he had been dead some time. 



Then the Kabbit went over to the Turkeys and said, in a sociable 

 way. "Here, I've found our old enemy, the Wildcat, lying dead in the 

 trail. Let's have a dance over him." The Turkeys were very doubtful, 

 buttinally went with him to where the Wildcat was lying in the road 

 as if dead. Now, the Kabbit had a good voice and was a great dance 

 leader, so he said, "I'll lead the song and you dance around him." 

 The Turkeys thought that tine, so the Kabbit took a stick to beat time 

 and began to sing: " Galagi'iM }hasuyaJi\ (jrdlagi' na Jiavin/ak' (j)ick out 

 the Gobbler, pick out the Gobbler)." 



" Why do you say that*" said the old Turkey. '* O, that's all right," 

 said the Rabbit, "that's just the way he does, and we sing about it." 

 He started the song again and the Turkeys began to dance around the 

 Wildcat. When they had gone around several times the Kal)bit said, 

 " Now go up and hit him, as we do in the war dance." So the Turkeys, 

 thinking the Wildcat surely dead, crowded in close around him and 

 the old goljbler kicked him. Then the Kabl)it drummed hard and sang 

 his loudest, "Pick out the Gobbler, pick out the Gobbler," and the 

 Wildcat jumped up and caught the Gobbler. 



20. HO\A^ THE TERRAPIN BEAT THE RABBIT 



The Raljbit was a great runner, and everybody knew it. No one 

 thought the Terrapin anything but a slow traveler, but he was a great 

 warrior and very boastful, and the two were always disputing about 

 their speed. At last they agreed to decide the matter liy a race. 

 They fixed the day and the starting place and arranged to run across 

 four mountain ridges, and the one who came in first at the end was to 

 be the winner. 



The Rabbit felt so sure of it that he said to the Terrapin, "You 

 know you can't run. You can never win the race, so I'll give you the 

 lirst ridge and then you'll have only three to cross while I go over 

 four." 



The Terrapin said that would be all right, but that night when he 

 went home to his family he sent for his Terrapin friends and told 

 them he wanted their help. He said he knew he could not outrun the 

 Kabbit, but he wanted to stop the Ral)bit's boasting. He explained 

 his plan to his friends and they agreed to help him. 



