272 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [eth.ann.19 



They iiotieod that the Ral)bit kf>pt sloek and lively, althoujjh it was 

 .still dry weather and the water was getting low in the well. They .said, 

 "That tricksy Rabbit steals our water at night," so they made a wolf 

 of pine gum and tar and set it up by the well to scare the thief. That 

 night the Kal>l)it eame. as he had been coming evei"y night, to drink 

 enough to last him all next daj'. He saw the queer black thing by the 

 well and said, "Who's there?" but the tar wolf said nothing. He 

 came nearer, but the wolf never moved, so he grew braver and said, 

 "Get out of my way or I'll strike you." Still the wolf never moved 

 and the Rabbit came up and struck it with his paw, but the gum held 

 his foot and it stuck fast. Now he was angry and said, "Let mc 

 go or I'll kick j-ou." Still the wolf said nothing. Then the Rabbit 

 .struck again with his hind foot, .so hard that it was caught in the gum 

 and he could not move, and there he .stuck until the animals came for 

 water in the morning. When they found who the thief was they had 

 great .sport over him for a while and then got ready to kill him. but as 

 soon as he was unfastened from the tar wolf he managed to get 

 away. — Waffoi'd. 



.SECOND VERSION' 



" Once upon a time there was such a severe drought that all streams 

 of water and all lakes were dried up. In this emergency the beasts 

 assembled together to devise means to procure water. It was pro- 

 posed by one todig a well. All agreed to do so except the hare. She 

 refused because it would soil her tiny paws. The rest, however, dug 

 their well and were fortunate enough to find water. The hare begin- 

 ning to suffer and thirst, and having no right to the well, was thrown 

 upon her wits to procure water. She determined, as the easiest way, 

 to steal from the public well. The rest of the animals, surprised to 

 find that the hare was so well supplied with water, asked her where 

 she got it. She replied that she arose betimes in the morning and 

 gathered the dewdrops. However the wolf and the fox .suspected her 

 of theft and hit on the following plan to detect her: 



They made a wolf of tar and placed it near the well. On the fol- 

 lowing night the hare came as usual after her supply of water. On 

 seeing the tar wolf she demanded who was there. Receiving no answer 

 she xepeated the demand, threatening to kick the wolf if he did not 

 reply. She receiving no reply kicked the wolf, and by this means 

 adhered to the tar and was caught. When the fox and wolf got hold 

 of her they consulted what it was best to do with her. One proposed 

 cutting her head off. This the hare protested would be useless, as it 

 had often l)een tried without hurting her. Other methods were pro- 

 posed for dispatching her, all of which .she said would be useless. At 

 last it was proposed to let her loose to perish in a thicket. Upon this 

 the hare affected great uneasiness and pleaded hard for life. Her 



