Ten Tales of Brer Rabbit

By Lynne Garner

Brer Rabbit is a much-loved cheeky rogue who is always playing tricks on the animals of the forest and farmyard. He shares his world with friends and foes such as grumpy Brer Bear, cunning Brer Fox, and his partner in crime Brer Turtle. These tales give an opportunity to join in with the adventures of the mischief maker that is Brer Rabbit.

This amusing collection of short stories is a must-read for adults and children of all ages. Parents will love reading these tales to the youngsters, whilst older children will delight in discovering Brer Rabbit for themselves.

This book contains the following tales:

Brer Rabbit and the Vegetable Patch
Brer Rabbit Helps Sister Goose
Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and the Fruit Bush
Brer Rabbit and the Pot of Honey
Brer Rabbit, Brer Otter and the Fish
Brer Rabbit, Brer Turtle and the Pimmerly Plums
Brer Rabbit and the Moon in the Millpond
Brer Rabbit and Brer Turtle
Brer Rabbit and the Wheelbarrow
Brer Rabbit Moves Home

To immerse yourself in the delightful world of Brer Rabbit and his friends press the buy now button. Then get ready to join the gang and enjoy ten great adventures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynne Garner
• Release date: Apr 30, 2018

Lynne Garner

Lynne started writing professionally in 1997; mainly for UK-based magazines. Since that time, she has had over 25 books and more than 300 features published. Her books have been published in UK, USA, Canada, Holland, Australia, Korea and Indonesia. Her first picture book, A Book For Bramble, has been translated into five languages, whilst her second book, The Best Jumper, was recorded and aired on the BBC’s CBeeBies radio channel. To learn more about Lynne and her work visit: www.lynnegarner.com

Book preview

Ten Tales of Brer Rabbit

Copyright © Lynne Garner 2017

Published by Mad Moment Media

Lynne Garner has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording in audio or video form, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express, written permission of the author and Nyrex Ltd. This permission must be granted beforehand. This includes any and all reproductions intended for non-commercial and/or non-profit use.

Mad Moment Media is a trading name of Nyrex Limited

Cover illustration and design by Debbie Knight

TEN TALES OF

BRER RABBIT

DEDICATION

For Mum, Valerie, Lily and Albert

CONTENTS

Introduction

Brer Rabbit and the Vegetable Patch

Brer Rabbit Helps Sister Goose

Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and the Fruit Bush

Brer Rabbit and the Pot of Honey

Brer Rabbit, Brer Otter and the Fish

Brer Rabbit, Brer Turtle and the Pimmerly Plums

Brer Rabbit and the Moon in the Millpond

Brer Rabbit and Brer Turtle

Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and the Wheelbarrow

Brer Rabbit’s New Home

Bonus content

Bibliography

About the author

INTRODUCTION

I remember my introduction to the lovable rogue that is Brer Rabbit was the stories written by Enid Blyton (1897-1968). I also remember seeing the Disney film ‘Song of the South’ (first screened in 1946) which combined live action with animation. The film featured the award-winning song ‘Zip-a-dee-doo-dah’, which Brer Rabbit sang along to. Little did I know this film and Blyton’s books were based on the Brer Rabbit stories written by Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908), who in the late 19th century popularized this mischief-maker in his stories featuring Uncle Remus. I also didn’t know that Joel Chandler Harris hadn’t pulled Brer Rabbit from his own imagination, but had collected the stories and retold them.

Brer Rabbit tales were originally an oral tradition that had travelled the world with the thousands of people sold into slavery. Slaves and those descended from them tended not to share their stories with people outside their own circle. However, this changed in the late 1800s when people including Robert Barnhill Roosevelt (1829-1906), Alcée Fortier (1856-1914) and Joel Chandler Harris began to collect the stories and write them down. Although Robert Barnhill Roosevelt published a small collection of Brer Rabbit stories before the Uncle Remus books, these didn’t capture the public’s imagination. It wasn’t until Joel Chandler Harris published his books that Brer Rabbit became a popular trickster character, loved by thousands of readers.

The stories retold in this collection are based on those that appeared in the books written by Joel Chandler Harris. In his early twenties he worked on a plantation where he overheard stories being shared by the slaves—namely Uncle George Terrell, Old Harbert and Aunt Sissy. In order to keep the feel of the original stories (they were told in the Deep South Gullah dialect) he wrote them in what is called an ‘eye dialect’, the non-standard spelling of words used to mimic the original dialect.

Some of the stories he retold in his seven Uncle Remus books are very similar to other trickster stories, including those featuring Anansi the Trickster Spider. For example, in the story ‘The Tar Baby’ Brer Fox constructs a doll out of a lump of tar in the hopes of capturing Brer Rabbit. This story is very similar to the Anansi story featuring the gum doll created by the farmer in a bid to capture Anansi. Another story where Brer Rabbit manages to ride Brer Fox is very similar to the story where Anansi the Trickster Spider fools Tiger into allowing him to ride him. This mingling of stories would appear to support the theory held by some, that a few of the Brer Rabbit stories are a mixture of traditional African tales and stories told by the Native American Indians.

Typically, in the stories featuring Brer Rabbit, he tricks the same characters repeatedly and they never learn that this rapscallion will outwit them. Whereas in the Anansi the Trickster Spider tales Anansi typically manages to fool someone just once and, unlike Brer Rabbit, sometimes becomes the victim of his own tricks.

Whether you’ve read a Brer Rabbit story before or not, I hope you enjoy them as much as I’ve enjoyed researching and writing