Why the ’Gator Is Black
NARRATOR BRER RABBIT BRER GATOR
STORYTELLER 1 STORYTELLER 2 STORYTELLER 3
NARRATOR: Many African American folk tales feature the clever Brer (brother) Rabbit. The rabbit is very small, but he is sharp and can outwit bigger animals, who are usually stupid and full of themselves. Brer Rabbit is known as a trickster—he uses tricks to get what he wants. Watch him at work.
STORYTELLER 1: Ah’m tellin’ dis lie on de ’gator. Well, de ’gator was a pretty white varmint wid coal black eyes. He useter swim in de water, but he never did bog up in de mud lak he do now.
STORYTELLER 2: When he come out de water he useter lay up on de clean grass so he wouldn’t dirty hisself all up.
STORYTELLER 3: So one day he was layin’ up on de grass in a marsh sunnin’ hisself and sleepin’ when Brer Rabbit come bustin’ cross de marsh and run right over Brer ’Gator before he stopped.
STORYTELLER 2: Brer ’Gator woke up and seen who it was trompin’ all over him and trackin’ up his pretty white hide. So he seen Brer Rabbit, so he ast him,
BRER GATOR: “Brer Rabbit, what you mean by runnin’ all cross me and messin’ up my clothes lak dis?”
STORYTELLER 1: Brer Rabbit was up behind a clump of bushes peerin’ out to see what was after him. So he tole de ’gator, says:
BRER RABBIT: “Ah ain’t got time to see what Ah’m runnin’ over nor under. Ah got trouble behind me.”
STORYTELLER 3: ’Gator ast,
BRER GATOR: “Whut is trouble? Ah ain’t never heard tell of dat befo’.”
STORYTELLER 1: Brer Rabbit says,
BRER RABBIT: “You ain’t never heard tell of trouble?”
STORYTELLER 2: Brer ’Gator tole him,
BRER GATOR: “No.”
STORYTELLER 3: Brer Rabbit says:
BRER RABBIT: “All right, you jus’ stay right where you at, and Ah’ll show you whut trouble is.”
STORYTELLER 2: He peered ’round to see if de coast was clear and loped off,
STORYTELLER 3: …and Brer ’Gator washed Brer Rabbit’s foot tracks off his hide and went on back to sleep agin.
STORYTELLER 1: Brer Rabbit went on off and lit him a li’dard knot, whichin is a kind of wood usin in torches.
STORYTELLER 3: Brer Rabbit come on back. He set dat marsh afire on every side.
STORYTELLER 1: All around Brer ’Gator de fire was burnin’ in flames of fire. De ’gator woke up and pitched out to run, but every which a way he run de fire met him.
STORYTELLER 2: He seen Brer Rabbit sittin’ up on de high ground jus’ killin hisself laughin’. So he hollered and ast him:
BRER GATOR: “Brer Rabbit, whut’s all dis goin’ on?”
BRER RABBIT: “Dat’s trouble, Brer ’Gator, dat’s trouble youse in.”
STORYTELLER 1: De ’gator run from side to side, round and round. Way after while he broke thru and hit de water “ker ploogum!”
STORYTELLER 3: He got all cooled off but he had done got smoked all up befo’ he got to de water, and his eyes is all red from de smoke.
STORYTELLER 2: And dat’s how come a ’gator is black today—cause de rabbit took advantage of him lak dat.
NARRATOR BRER RABBIT BRER GATOR
STORYTELLER 1 STORYTELLER 2 STORYTELLER 3
NARRATOR: Many African American folk tales feature the clever Brer (brother) Rabbit. The rabbit is very small, but he is sharp and can outwit bigger animals, who are usually stupid and full of themselves. Brer Rabbit is known as a trickster—he uses tricks to get what he wants. Watch him at work.
STORYTELLER 1: Ah’m tellin’ dis lie on de ’gator. Well, de ’gator was a pretty white varmint wid coal black eyes. He useter swim in de water, but he never did bog up in de mud lak he do now.
STORYTELLER 2: When he come out de water he useter lay up on de clean grass so he wouldn’t dirty hisself all up.
STORYTELLER 3: So one day he was layin’ up on de grass in a marsh sunnin’ hisself and sleepin’ when Brer Rabbit come bustin’ cross de marsh and run right over Brer ’Gator before he stopped.
STORYTELLER 2: Brer ’Gator woke up and seen who it was trompin’ all over him and trackin’ up his pretty white hide. So he seen Brer Rabbit, so he ast him,
BRER GATOR: “Brer Rabbit, what you mean by runnin’ all cross me and messin’ up my clothes lak dis?”
STORYTELLER 1: Brer Rabbit was up behind a clump of bushes peerin’ out to see what was after him. So he tole de ’gator, says:
BRER RABBIT: “Ah ain’t got time to see what Ah’m runnin’ over nor under. Ah got trouble behind me.”
STORYTELLER 3: ’Gator ast,
BRER GATOR: “Whut is trouble? Ah ain’t never heard tell of dat befo’.”
STORYTELLER 1: Brer Rabbit says,
BRER RABBIT: “You ain’t never heard tell of trouble?”
STORYTELLER 2: Brer ’Gator tole him,
BRER GATOR: “No.”
STORYTELLER 3: Brer Rabbit says:
BRER RABBIT: “All right, you jus’ stay right where you at, and Ah’ll show you whut trouble is.”
STORYTELLER 2: He peered ’round to see if de coast was clear and loped off,
STORYTELLER 3: …and Brer ’Gator washed Brer Rabbit’s foot tracks off his hide and went on back to sleep agin.
STORYTELLER 1: Brer Rabbit went on off and lit him a li’dard knot, whichin is a kind of wood usin in torches.
STORYTELLER 3: Brer Rabbit come on back. He set dat marsh afire on every side.
STORYTELLER 1: All around Brer ’Gator de fire was burnin’ in flames of fire. De ’gator woke up and pitched out to run, but every which a way he run de fire met him.
STORYTELLER 2: He seen Brer Rabbit sittin’ up on de high ground jus’ killin hisself laughin’. So he hollered and ast him:
BRER GATOR: “Brer Rabbit, whut’s all dis goin’ on?”
BRER RABBIT: “Dat’s trouble, Brer ’Gator, dat’s trouble youse in.”
STORYTELLER 1: De ’gator run from side to side, round and round. Way after while he broke thru and hit de water “ker ploogum!”
STORYTELLER 3: He got all cooled off but he had done got smoked all up befo’ he got to de water, and his eyes is all red from de smoke.
STORYTELLER 2: And dat’s how come a ’gator is black today—cause de rabbit took advantage of him lak dat.