Br'er Possum Loves Peace
: BRER RABBIT and HIS NEIGHBORS: Boys And Girls Bookshelf
One night Br'er Possum called for Br'er Coon, and they rambled forth to
see how the others were getting along. Br'er Possum he ate his fill of
fruit, and Br'er Coon he scooped up a lot of frogs and tadpoles. They
ambled along, just as sociable as a basket of kittens, till by-and-by
they heard Mr. Dog talking to himself off in the woods.
"S'pose he runs upon us, Br'er Possum, what you going to do?" says Br'er
Br'er Possum sort of laugh round the corners of his mouth.
"Oh, if he comes, Br'er Coon, I'm going to stand by you," says Br'er
Possum. "What are you going to do?" says he.
"Who? Me?" says Br'er Coon. "If he runs up on to me, I lay I'll give him
a twist," says he.
Mr. Dog he came and he came. He didn't wait to say How-d'ye-do. He just
sailed into the two of them. The very first pass he made, Br'er Possum
fetched a grin from ear to ear, and keeled over as if he was dead. Then
Mr. Dog he sailed into Br'er Coon, but Br'er Coon was cut out for that
kind of business, and he fairly wiped up the face of the earth with Mr.
Dog. When Mr. Dog got a chance to make himself scarce, he took it, and
what was left of him went skaddling through the woods as if it was shot
out of a gun. Br'er Coon he sort of licked his clothes into shape, and
racked off, and Br'er Possum he lay as if he was dead, till by-and-by he
looked up, sort of careful-like, and when he found the coast clear he
scrambled up and scampered off as if something was after him.
Next time Br'er Possum met Br'er Coon, Br'er Coon refused to reply to
his How-d'ye-do, and this made Br'er Possum feel mighty bad, 'cause they
used to make so many excursions together.
"What makes you hold your head so high?" says Br'er Possum, says he.
"I ain't running with cowards these days," says Br'er Coon. "When I
wants you, I'll send for you," says he.
Then Br'er Possum got very angry. "Who's a coward?" says he.
"You is," says Br'er Coon, "that's who. I ain't associating with them
what lies down on the ground and plays dead when there's a free fight
going on," says he.
Then Br'er Possum grin and laugh fit to kill hisself.
"Lor'! Br'er Coon, you don't think I done that 'cause I was afraid, does
you?" says he. "Why, I were no more afraid than you is this minute. What
was there to be skeered at?" says he. "I knew you'd get away with Mr.
Dog if I didn't, and I just lay there watching you shake him, waiting to
put in when the time came," says he.
Br'er Coon turn up his nose.
"That's a mighty likely tale," says he. "When Mr. Dog no more than
touched you before you keeled over and lay there stiff," says he.
"That's just what I was going to tell you about," says Br'er Possum. "I
weren't no more skeered 'n you is now, and I was going to give Mr. Dog a
sample of my jaw," says he, "but I'm the most ticklish chap that ever
you set eyes on, and no sooner did Mr. Dog put his nose down among my
ribs than I got to laughing, and I laugh till I hadn't no more use of my
limbs," says he; "and it's a mercy for Mr. Dog that I was ticklish,
'cause a little more and I'd have ate him up," says he. "I don't mind
fighting, Br'er Coon, any more than you does, but I'm blessed if I can
stand tickling. Get me in a row where there ain't no tickling allowed,
and I'm your man," says he.
And to this day Br'er Possum's bound to surrender when you touch him in
the short ribs, and he'll laugh even if he knows he's going to be
smashed for it.
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