Story: Brother Rabbit and the Little Girl
Book: Types and Distribution of Negro Folklore in America
Author(s): Vivian Costroma Osborne Marsh
Published: 1922
Internet Archive link.

Notes: I have removed the eye-dialect, but the words and syntax are the same. From G. O. Melontree, Marsh collected a variant where Mr. Man ties Brer Rabbit to the fence with a bridle, but Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Fox into taking his place. Marsh indicates that she collected this version from B. B. Osborne, although it is for the most part a verbatim version of the story in Joel Chandler Harris’s Nights with Uncle Remus, but without the Uncle Remus frame, and somewhat shortened.

Brer Rabbit, Singing and Dancing

One time after Brer Rabbit done been tromping around hunting up some salad for to make out his dinner, he find heself in the neighborhood of Mr. Mans, and he walk along till he come to the garden gate and see Little Girl playing around in the sand. When Brer Rabbit look twixt the garden palings and see the collards and the asparagus and the other garden truck, it make his mouth water. Then he walk up to the Little Gal, Brer Rabbit did, and he scratch he head and bow and scrape he foot and talk mighty nice and slick.

“Howdy, Little Gal,” Brer Rabbit says he, “how you come on?” says he.

Then the Little Gal, she respond howdy and she ask Brer Rabbit how he come on. He allow he mightly poorly, and then he ask if the Little Gal what live up in the big white house, which the Little Gal, she up and say she were. Brer Rabbit, he say he mighty glad ’cause he just been up there to see her pa, and he say for to tell the Little Gal to open the garden gate so Brer Rabbit can get some truck. Then the Little Gal, she open the gate, and Brer Rabbit, he go in. And he got him a mess of greens, and he hop out again, and when he going off he make a bow, he did, and tell the Little Gal he much obliged, then he put off for home.

Next day, Brer Rabbit played the same trick on the Little Gal, and walk off with another mess of greens, and it keep on this way till Mr. Man begun to miss he greens, and he keep on missing them till he got to cussing everybody on the place.

When that happened, the Little Gal, she up and say, “My goodness, Pa!” says she. “You done told Brer Rabbit for to come and make me let him in the garden after some greens, and sin’t he done ask me, and ain’t I done let him in?” says she.

Mr. Man soon see just way the land lay, and he laugh and tell the Little Gal that he done plumb disremember all about Mr. Rabbit, then he tell her that the next time that young chap come to let him in, then to run and tell him, ’cause he want to see him.

Sure enough, next morning her come Brer Rabbit. He was ready with the same tale. The Little Gal let him in, then she run and tell her pa.

“Oh Pa! Pa! There Brer Rabbit in the garden now! There he is, Pa!”

Then Mr. Man, he rush out and grab up a fishing line what been hanging on the back porch, and he make for the garden, and when he get there, there was Brer Rabbit trompling around on the strawberry bed, and mashing down on the tomatoes. Brer Rabbit tried to hide behind a collard leaf, but it weren’t no use. Mr. Man seed him and ‘fore you can count eleven, Mr. Man done got him and tie him good and tight.

Mr. Man tell him he going to beat him to death, then tack he skin to the stable door. He leave the Little Gal to watch him whiles he gone.

Brer Rabbit ain’t saying nothing, but Mr. Man ain’t more than out the gate ‘fore he begun to sing, and in them days Brer Rabbit was a singer, and when he tuned up to sing, he make them other creatures hold their breath. The song Brer Rabbit sung run like this:
The Jaybird hunt the sparrow nest,
The bee-martin sail all around;
The squirrel, he holler from the top of the tree,
Mr. Mole, he stay in the ground:
He hide and he stay till the dark drop down,
Mr. Mole he hide in the ground.

When the Little Gal hear that, she laugh, she did, and she up and ask Brer Rabbit to sing some more, but Brer Rabbit, he sort of cough, and allow that he got a might bad hoarseness down he windpipe somewheres. The Little Gal, she persuaded, and by and by Brer Rabbit, he up and allow that he can dance more than he can sing. Then the Little Gal ask him if he won’t dance. Brer Rabbit respond how in the name of goddess can a man dance when he all tied up this here way, then the Little Gal say she can untie him, and Brer Rabbit, he say he ain’t caring if she do. The Little Gal, she reached down and unloose the fish line, and Brer Rabbit, he sort of stretch himself and look around.

Brer Rabbit commenced to dance, and when he done danced up by the gate, bless your soul, Brer Rabbit gather up his foots under him and he dance out of that garden, and he dance home. ‘Cause you don’t expect that old-timer what done had experience like Rabbit going to stay there and let mr. Man sacrifice him? Shoo! Brer Rabbit dance, but he dance home.”

Photo of garden by woodleywonderworks at Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/38061104554