Brer Rabbit gets the gravy

 

One day Brer Fox and Brer Wolf were walking along through the woods when they saw a key lying on the ground. Brer Fox pounced on it.

‘Ho! This is the key to Brer Rabbit’s house!’ he said, ‘Let’s go and hide in his house and catch him by surprise and cook him for supper!’

‘I’m tired of that crap,’ said Brer Wolf, ‘Every week we come up with a new scheme to catch Brer Rabbit and every week he outwits us. This whole charade is becoming quite monotonous.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ said Brer Fox ‘Think of how impressed all the creatures in the woods will be when they hear we have finally gotten the better of Brer Rabbit!’

‘Fuck Brer Rabbit,’ said Brer Wolf, ‘We’ve wasted enough time on that cheeky little bastard.’

‘That’s why we must catch him,’ said Brer Fox, ‘We will look silly if we give up now. The rivalry must continue until such time as everyone shits themselves with boredom from reading about it. Come now.’

With Brer Wolf still grumbling, the pair sneaked off to Brer Rabbit’s house and unlocked the door and crept in.

Brer Rabbit has gone to the market and will be back soon,’ whispered Brer Fox, ‘You hide in that cupboard there. I’ll hide in the bedroom. When Brer Rabbit comes in, we shall jump out and capture him!’

‘This is an unprecedented turn of events,’ said Brer Wolf sarcastically as the pair took their places, ‘I wonder what devilishly cunning escape plan Brer Rabbit will hatch today.’

Shhh!’ said Brer Fox, ‘Don’t be so pessimistic. This may be our lucky day.’ The two creatures waited patiently and soon Brer Rabbit arrived home from the market.  He marched up to his front door and felt in his pockets.

‘Goodness me!’ he groaned, ‘I believe I’ve lost my key!’ He began to hunt through his pockets for his key but of course he could not find it. In despair he tried the handle and much to his surprise the door opened.

‘That’s funny,’ he said to himself ‘I could have sworn I locked the door when I left this morning.’

He went into his house and into his little kitchen and put the kettle on to boil. Unfortunately neither Brer Fox nor Brer Wolf realised that Brer Rabbit had come home. Brer Wolf had just farted and was so preoccupied with holding his nose and fanning the air in the small cupboard that he hadn’t heard Brer Rabbit come in and Brer Fox had just remembered a rude joke he had heard the previous day and was giggling to himself.

Brer Wolf!’ he called, not realising Brer Rabbit was home, ‘Brer Wolf! I have a joke for you.’

‘What is it, Brer Fox?’ said Brer Wolf crossly, ‘I don’t like jokes.’

‘You’ll like this joke,’ said Brer Fox eagerly, ‘It’s about an Irish homosexual.’

Brer Rabbit heard the muffled voices and came out into the hall to investigate. He was just in time to hear a voice from the cupboard say:

‘Yes, yes. I know that one. He likes women. Everyone’s heard that joke. It’s not even funny. You are a dickhead, Brer Fox.’

Brer Rabbit recognised Brer Wolf’s voice and scratched his head. He reckoned he knew what Brer Wolf and Brer Fox were doing hiding in his house and he wasn’t about to be captured. Not Brer Rabbit!  He thought for a moment and then grinned to himself as another cunning scheme came to him. He went back to the kitchen and took a frying pan and a spoon from a shelf. He found a fearsome mask he had worn to a fancy dress party and put that on. He found a long black cloak and put that on too. Didn’t Brer Rabbit look frightful now! He banged the spoon and fry pan together loudly and shouted:

‘I am the Wiggle-Waggle monster! I shall eat everyone I find in this house.’

Brer Wolf heard the frightful din and snorted. This wasn’t the first time Brer Rabbit had tried this trick. Brer Wolf waited until the noise of the Wiggle Waggle came closer and then jumped out and grabbed the ‘monster’, took the fry pan from him and smacked him over the head with it. Brer Fox also emerged to assist with the capture.

‘That was the worst attempt to trick us I have ever seen,’ declared Brer Wolf.

‘It was rather lame,’ agreed Brer Fox, popping Brer Rabbit in a sack and tying up the neck. ‘Or perhaps we have just become cleverer over time.’

The sack struggled weakly and Brer Fox spoke sternly to it.

‘Now listen here Brer Rabbit! We’ve captured you fair and square. You’ll be in my roasting pot tonight so until then you shall lie quietly and ponder your fate.’

Brer Fox was as good as his word. He took the sack home, boiled a pot of water and dropped Brer Rabbit into it.

‘We’ll let him stew in his own juice for a while,’ said Brer Wolf, licking his lips. ‘The triumph will add extra savour to our supper.’

That night all the creatures in the woods were invited to Brer Fox’s house for delicious rabbit stew and everyone dined merrily. No-one missed Brer Rabbit at all and everyone congratulated Brer Fox and Brer Wolf on their splendid victory. So you see, children, the moral of the story is that no-one likes a smartarse. This applies especially to you. Brer Fox and Brer Wolf like to eat children too so if you become too clever you may just end up in their roasting pot. You will try to remember that, won’t you?

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