One day Mr. Fox decided he wanted to play a trick on Brer Rabbit. Mr. Fox went to the market and bought a large tub of the sweetest and stickiest molasses he could find. He then went to a path that Brer Rabbit frequents often and constructed a Tar-Baby made from molasses. Admiring his work, Mr. Fox retreated to the bushes to watch and wait for Brer Rabbit to come by.
It didn't take long for Brer Rabbit to come along on his way. Brer Rabbit could smell the sweet molasses from down the road and was immediately intrigued by the Tar-Baby. Coming nearer, Brer Rabbit saw that the Tar-Baby was indeed sweet, delicious molasses and he was tempted to taste a bite. Brer Rabbit knew he shouldn't touch the Tar-Baby as he didn't know who he belonged to, but he couldn't help himself and decided one tiny bite couldn't hurt. Sticking out his tongue he licked the Tar-Baby, however when he tried to pull away, he found himself stuck! The wolf jumped out of the bushes and burst out in laughter at the stuck Brer Rabbit. "I've got you again Brer Rabbit!" exclaimed Mr. Fox. "Have fun getting yourself out of this one!".
Some say that Mr. Bear came along and helped Brer Rabbit free himself from the molasses prison, and others say he didn't.
Mr. Fox constructing Tar-Baby. Web Source.
Authors note: The original story is written in the dialect of Uncle Remus, so the first big change I made was simply telling the story in normal dialect from a narrators point of view. This makes it much easier to read and understand. I didn't want to change the story too much because it is a very famous and classic story, however in the original text Mr. Fox makes the tar baby from turpentine and Brer Rabbit ends up stuck in it after getting angry that the tar baby would not talk back to him. I wanted to take the anger out of it and switched the tar baby to being made out of yummy molasses that Brer Rabbit couldn't resist. I decided to leave the ending up to reader's imagination like the original text.
Bibliography: The Wonderful Tar Baby from Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris.
Hi Mckenzie! This was a super cute story that you recreated. While I have not read the original story, I'm glad that you rewrote it in a way that was easier to read. In your author's note, you said you kept the stories pretty similar so thats cool. I also like your changed in the Tar- bay from turpentine to molasses, I can see why the Brer Rabbit couldn't resist it.
ReplyDeleteMckenzie,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun short story. I like the change you made to take out the anger from Brer Rabbit, I feel like it would have been a different story with in. In your version, I really feel sympathetic for Brer Rabbit since he just wanted a taste of something sweet. In the original, I think I would have felt less bad for him since his temper is what got him stuck. This story was short and to the point, I loved it.
McKenzie!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your story a lot! I had no idea how your story would end, so I was intrigued to continue reading. Honestly, I was expecting the rabbit to become stuck to the molasses and tar-baby and then for the fox to eat it. So, I was really surprised that your story had a different ending.