Fairy tales -- Canada; Folklore -- Canada; Indians of North America -- Canada -- Folklore
One night of bright moonlight Rabbit was prowling through the woods,
as was his custom, in search of some one on whom he could play a
prank, for he was a great joker. Suddenly he came upon the giant and
his old witch wife standing by an opening in the side of a low
mountain. He watched them for a long time from the shadow of a great
tree, and at last he saw them enter a large hole in the side of the
hill. He knew now that he had hit by accident upon the giant's cave
and he was well pleased by his discovery. But he kept his secret to
himself, for he thought, "Here is a good chance for me to win fame. I
will kill the giants by a crafty trick and I will then be looked upon
as a great warrior, the foremost in all the land, for all the Chief's
men have failed to find the giants."
So he went to the Chief and said, "Oh, Chief, I know where the giants
live and I swear to you that I am going to kill them. It is I alone
who can rid you of these pests." "You!" said the Chief in great
surprise; "little harm the like of you can do to giants; they will eat
you up in one mouthful," and he laughed loudly at Rabbit's boldness.
And he called to his warriors saying, "See what a stout fighter we
have here! Little Rabbit says he can do what we have failed to do; he
swears that he will kill the giants; he is better fitted to kill a
mouse!" And they all laughed loud haw-haws at Rabbit's vanity.
Poor Rabbit's pride was deeply hurt by the Chief's scorn and the
warriors' cruel laughter, but it all made him more determined than
ever to slay the thieving giants. So he went to an old woman who lived
near-by and said, "Give me an old faded dress and a ragged old shawl
and your coloured spectacles and a hat with a feather in it." The old
woman wondered what tricks he was up to now, but she gave him what he
asked for. He put on the tattered old dress and the battered old hat
with a red feather sticking from the top, and he wrapped the old shawl
about his face, and he wore the woman's coloured spectacles and he
carried a crooked stick. And dressed in this fashion he set out
towards evening for the giants' home. When he reached the mouth of the
cave, he stood still and waited, leaning on his crooked stick, for
night was coming on and he knew that the giants would soon be going
out on their plundering rounds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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