Fox took off down the road, through the woods, down the valley, up the hill, down the hill, round the bend, through the creek, and past the shopping mall, until he came to Brer Rabbit’s house.
(Wasn’t no shopping mall there. I just put that in to see if you was listening.)
Brer Rabbit saw him coming. He ran in the house and shut the door tight as midnight. Brer Fox knocked on the door. BAM! BAM! BAM! No answer. BAM! BAM! BAM! Still no answer. BLAMMITY BLAM BLAM BLAM!
From inside came this weak voice. “Is that you, Brer Fox? If it is, please run and get the doctor. I ate some parsley this morning, and it ain’t setting too well on my stomach. Please, Brer Fox. Run and get the doctor.”
“I’m sho’ sorry to hear that, Brer Rabbit. Miz Meadows asked me to come tell you that she and the girls are having a party today. They said it wouldn’t be a party worth a dead leaf[36] if you weren’t there. They sent me to come get you.”
Brer Rabbit allowed as to how he was too sick, and Brer Fox said he couldn’t be too sick to go partying. (God knows, that’s the truth! I ain’t never been too sick to party. Even when I’m dead, I’ll get up out of the grave to party. And when I get sick, the blues are the best doctor God put on earth. The blues can cure athlete’s foot, hangnail, and the heartbreak of psoriasis.)
Well, Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox got to arguing back and forth and forth and back about whether he was too sick to come to the party. Finally, Brer Rabbit said, “Well, all right, Brer Fox. I don’t want to hurt nobody’s feelings by not coming to the party, but I can’t walk.”
Brer Fox said, “That’s all right. I’ll carry you in my arms.”
“I’m afraid you’ll drop me.”
“I wouldn’t do a thing like that, Brer Rabbit. I’m stronger than bad breath.”
“I wouldn’t argue with you there, but I’m still afraid. I’ll go if you carry me on your back.”
“Well, all right,” Brer Fox said reluctantly.
“But I can’t ride without a saddle.”
“I’ll get the saddle.”
“But I can’t get in the saddle without a bridle.”
Brer Fox was getting a little tired of this, but he agreed to get a bridle.
“And I can’t keep my balance unless you got some blinders on. How I know you won’t try to throw me off?”
That’s just what Brer Fox was planning on doing, but he said he’d put the blinders on.
Brer Fox went off to get all the riding gear[37], and Brer Rabbit combed his hair, greased his mustache, put on his best suit (the purple one with the yellow vest), shined his toenails, and fluffed out his cottontail[38]. He was definitely ready to party!
He went outside and Brer Fox had the saddle, bridle, and blinders on and was down on all fours. Brer Rabbit got on and away they went. They hadn’t gone far when Brer Fox felt Brer Rabbit raise his foot.
“What you doing, Brer Rabbit?”
“Shortening up the left stirrup.”
Brer Rabbit raised the other foot.
“What you doing now?” Brer Fox wanted to know.
“Shortening up the right stirrup.”
What Brer Rabbit was really doing was putting on spurs. When they got close to Miz Meadows’s house, Brer Rabbit stuck them spurs into Brer Fox’s flanks and Brer Fox took off buckity-buckity-buckity[39]!
Miz Meadows and the girls were sitting on the porch when Brer Rabbit come riding by like he was carrying mail on the Pony Express. He galloped up the road until he was almost out of sight, turned Brer Fox around and came back by the house a-whooping and a-hollering like he’d just discovered gold.
He turned Brer Fox around again, slowed him to a trot and rode on up to Miz Meadows’s house, where he got off and tied Brer Fox to the hitching post. He sauntered up the steps, tipped his hat to the ladies, lit a cigar, and sat down in the rocking chair.
“Ladies, didn’t I tell you that Brer Fox was the riding horse for our family! Of course, he don’t keep his gait like he used to, but in a month or so he’ll have it back.”
Miz Meadows and the gals laughed so hard and so long, they liked to broke out of their underclothes.
Brer Rabbit must’ve stayed with Miz Meadows and the girls half the day. They had tea and cookies, and Brer Rabbit entertained them with some old-time barrelhouse piano. Finally it was time to go. He kissed the ladies’ hands, got on Brer Fox, and with a little nudge of the spurs, rode away.
Soon as they were out of sight, Brer Fox started rarin’ and buckin’[40] to get Brer Rabbit off. Every time he rared, Brer Rabbit jabbed him with the spurs, and every time he bucked, Brer Rabbit yanked hard on the bridle. Finally, brer Fox rolled over on the ground and that got Brer Rabbit off in a hurry.
Brer Rabbit didn’t waste no time getting through the underbrush, and Brer Fox was after him like the wet on water. Brer Rabbit saw a tree with a hole and ran in it just as the shadow of Brer Fox’s teeth was going up his back.
The hole was too little for Brer Fox to get into, so he lay down on the ground beside it to do some serious thinking.
He was lying there with his eyes closed (a fox always closes his eyes when he’s doing serious thinking), when Brer Buzzard came flopping along. He saw Brer Fox lying there like he was dead, and said, “Looks like supper has come to me.”
“No, it ain’t, fool!” said Brer Fox, opening his eyes. “I ain’t dead. I got Brer Rabbit trapped in this tree here, and I ain’t letting him get away this time if it takes me six Christmases.”
Brer Buzzard and Brer Fox talked over the situation for a while. Finally, Brer Buzzard said he’d watch the tree if Brer Fox wanted to go get his axe to chop the tree down.
Soon as Brer Fox was gone and everything was quiet, Brer Rabbit moved close to the hole and yelled, “Brer Fox! Brer Fox!”
Brer Rabbit acted like he was annoyed when Brer Fox didn’t answer. “I know you out there, Brer Fox. Can’t fool me. I just wanted to tell you how much I wish Brer Turkey Buzzard was here.”
Brer Buzzard’s ears got kind of sharp. He put on his best Brer Fox voice and said, “What you want with Brer Buzzard?”
“Oh, nothing, except there’s the fattest gray squirrel in here that I’ve ever seen. If Brer Buzzard was here, I’d drive the squirrel out the other side of the tree to him.”
“Well,” said Brer Buzzard, still trying to sound like Brer Fox and not doing too good a job[41], “you drive him out and I’ll catch him for Brer Buzzard.”
Brer Rabbit started making all kinds of noises like he was trying to drive the
it wouldn’t be a party worth a dead leaf – (
to get all the riding gear – (
fluffed out his cottontail – (
took off buckity-buckity-buckity – (
started rarin’ and buckin’ – (
not doing too good a job – (
