Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/554

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490
MODERN FABLES

leader, and they wanted to learn the latest dance; so they agreed to let him show them, and made a ring about him while he got ready. The Rabbit patted his feet and began to dance around in a circle, singing:

"On the edge of the field I dance about,
Hania lil! lil! Hania lil! lil!"

"Now," said the Rabbit, "when I sing, 'On the edge of the field,' I dance that way," and he danced over in the direction where he pointed—"and when I sing, 'lil! lil!' you must all stamp your feet hard." The Wolves thought it fine. Presently the Rabbit began another round, singing the same song, and danced a little nearer to the field, while the Wolves all stamped their feet. He sang louder and louder, and danced nearer and nearer to the field, until, at the fourth song, when the Wolves were stamping their very hardest and thinking only of the song, the Rabbit made one jump and was off through the long grass. The Wolves were after him at once, but he ran for a hollow stump and climbed up inside the hollow. When the Wolves reached the stump, one of them thrust his head inside and looked up. But the Rabbit spit down at him, and he had to draw back. The other Wolves were afraid to try, and they all went away, leaving the Rabbit safe in the stump.

(From Myths of the Cherokee, by James Mooney.)


HOW THE TERRAPIN ESCAPED FROM THE WOLVES

THE 'Possum and the Terrapin went together to hunt persimmons, and found the tree full of ripe fruit. The 'Possum climbed the tree and was throwing down the persimmons to the Terrapin, when a Wolf came up and began to snap up the persimmons as