Long ago, back when the animals could talk and people could understand them, and magic was real as the air we breathe, Rabbit was out walking around. It was a beautiful winter day. The snow was on the ground, and as Rabbit walked he made tracks in the snow. Nothing seemed to be wrong with the world until suddenly, from behind a bush, out jumped Fox.
"Urr," said Fox. "I am Fox. I am going to catch you. I am going to eat you!" Rabbit quickly began to run. He ran as fast as he could, leaving Fox far behind. But Fox, seeing Rabbits's tracks in the snow, began to follow them.
Now, far ahead, Rabbit slipped off his moccasins. He blew on them and said, "Go ahead, make tracks!" The moccasins began to make tracks all by themselves in the snow, and Rabbit hid behind a bush.
Soon Fox came along following those moccasin tracks, and as soon as he passed by Rabbit, Rabbit quickly ran away in the opposite direction. Before too long, though, Fox caught up with the moccasins. He saw he had been fooled. "Huhh," said Fox. "I am going to catch that Rabbit, and I will eat that Rabbit!"
Fox turned around and backtracked and found the place where Rabbit had slipped through the snow until he came to the clearing in the forest, and there in that clearing Rabbit's tracks went around and around and ended right where an old woman was sitting.
This old woman had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and she had on a very strange hat.. it had two feathers sticking up from the top of it. Fox came right up to that old woman. "Old woman," he said, "have you seen a rabbit go by here?"
The old woman looked at the Fox, and she wiggled her nose in a funny way, and said, "Why, yes, I did see a rabbit go by here. He was a very skinny rabbit indeed. There was no meat on his bones. No one would want to eat that rabbit."
But Fox, he said, "Huhh, I am Fox. I am going to catch that rabbit and I am going to eat that rabbit!"
"Uh-huh,"said the old woman, looking at the Fox. "I can see you are a great hunter. You will surely catch that poor rabbit. You are obviously one of the greatest hunters of all. Perhaps you are almost as great a hunter as my son. My son hunts for only one thing though."
"What is that?" said Fox.
"He hunts only for foxes," said the old woman. "In fact, there he is now, right behind you."
Fox turned around to look. There was no one there, but as he turned to look, that old woman threw off her blanket, grabbed a club, leaped high into the air, and Whonk!hit Fox right on top of the head. Then she ran away, because it was not an old woman at all.. it was Rabbit.
Now, when Fox woke up he had a big bump on top of his head."Huhh," he said. "That was Rabbit, and
once again, he said with a greater conviction than before.. "I will catch that rabbit. I AM going to eat that rabbit!" And he began following Rabbit's tracks in the snow one more time.
He followed those tracks for a long time, until he came to a grove of trees. And there, sitting at the edge of that grove of trees, was an old medicine man. The old medicine man had a blanket wrapped around him. He had a pot of soup cooking in front of him, and this old medicine man had on a very strange cap with two feathers sticking out of the top of it. And the rabbit's tracks ended right there, where the old medicine man was sitting.
Fox came right up to him. "Old man," Fox said, "have you seen a rabbit go by here?"
"Uh-Huh," said the old man, "indeed I did see a rabbit go by here. It was a rabbit who looked to be very sick. In fact, if anyone were to eat that rabbit, he would become sick too."
"Huhh," said Fox. "I am Fox." I am going to catch that rabbit and I am going to eat that rabbit no matter what!"
"Ahh," said the old medicine man. "I can see you will do as you say. You are very strong and determined. I can see this now. But tell me, my son, how did you get that bump on top of your head?"
"Huhh," said Fox. "I uh, I ran into a tree last night."
"Uh-huh," said the old medicine man. "Come and sit down in front of me, my son. "Let me doctor your bump."
So Fox sat down with his back to the old medicine man. The old medicine man began to rub the top of Fox's head. Suddenly the old medicine man shouted, "Look! Over there on the other side of the clearing, the eagle is flying down!"
And when Fox looked to see the eagle, the medicine man threw off his blanket, picked up a club, leaped high up in the air, and Whomp!hit the Fox on top of the head. And then he ran away, for it was no medicine man at all.. it was Rabbit.
When Fox woke up again, he had a bump on top of the bump on top of his head. "Huhh," Fox said. "Now I see what has happened. If I find anyone or anything else with two feathers, I will know they are Rabbit and I will eat them." And Fox began to run, following Rabbit's tracks in the snow.
Up ahead of Fox, Rabbit was getting tired. "Oh," Rabbit said to himself, "I thought that Fox would give up by now. I can't think of any more tricks, What can I do?" Then Rabbit saw an old rotten log by the side of the trail, and that old rotten log had two sticks coming out of it that looked like two feathers. Rabbit ran toward that log and leaped as high as he could, landing in the bushes on the other side. And he held his breath and waited.
Along came Fox following the tracks, and he saw the tracks ended by that log. "Huhh," said Fox. "Here is where the tracks end. Where is Rabbit? There is only this log. Ahh, but this log has two feathers. This is no log at all. This is Rabbit!"
Fox sniffed that log. "Huhh," he said. "It even smells like a rotten log. But it must be Rabbit." Fox took a bite of that rotten log. "Ugh, this tastes terrible. It even tastes like a rotten log.But I know it must be Rabbit. Rabbit, I am Fox. I caught you, and now I am going to eat you!" And with that, Fox began to eat that rotten log. Bite after bite, he ate that log, until he had eaten the entire thing. He did not feel well at all. He looked at his stomach, which was sticking out like a bowl. "Uhhh," said Fox. "Maybe I do not like to eat Rabbits after all." And he went home feeling very sick.
Rabbit came out from behind the bushes and did a little dance there in the snow, singing, "Fox, you did not catch this Rabbit! Fox, you did not eat this Rabbit!" And then Rabbit ran away.
That is how that story goes. Ho? Hey.
