Week 7 Story: Brer Fox and the River
Brer Fox
Brer Fox was ambling down the path toward his home. He paused when he heard Brer Frog croaking about another Fox by the river. Intrigued, Brer Fox rushed toward the embankment, nearly falling when he tripped over thin air in his excitement. Brer Fox caught sight of another Fox below the surface of the river! He moved to try to pull the other Fox up, but the ripples from the water Brer Fox displaced made it hard to see the other Fox. Eventually, after trying several times to pull the other Fox up out of the river, Brer Fox settled in the sand at the bank of the river. He could wait until the other Fox decided they were ready to come out. Only, Brer Fox had underestimated the how boring waiting would be. Brer Fox determined that he would go back home, get a few of his books and some food, and then return. Maybe the smell of the food would help encourage the other Fox to come out! Brer Fox rose and climbed up the embankment, turning to check on the other Fox as he did. But the other Fox was gone! Brer Fox scrambled back to his original spot, frantically looking for the other Fox. There! Brer Fox settled back in for a long wait. Clearly, the other Fox was not impressed with his attempts to leave, even if he was planning on coming straight back.
Brer Fox was set to ignore the
whistling he heard down the path behind him, but the being whistling was not
content to ignore him. Brer Rabbit bounded down to Brer Fox, only to move more
cautiously when Brer Fox threw sand at him in a warning to be quiet. Brer Fox did
not want to scare the other Fox away, after all. Brer Rabbit took a moment to
appraise the situation, before he crept forward cautiously. As Brer Rabbit moved
toward Brer Fox and in turn, toward the river, Brer Fox noticed that there was another
Rabbit under the surface of the water as well! But wouldn’t the other Fox have noticed
the other Rabbit? Reaching out, Brer Fox grabbed Brer Rabbit’s coat and moved him
around, noting as he did that the other Rabbit copied his movements exactly. Brer
Fox let go of Brer Rabbit and scowled. The other Fox was not there at all! It was
only a reflection of Brer Fox himself!
Now, Brer Fox only had to get out of
here without Brer Rabbit figuring out what he had been doing for most of the afternoon.
Brer Fox would never live it down. Brer Rabbit would tell the others, Brer
Bear, Brer Wolf, and even Brer Coon, and they would mock him for it. To that
end, Brer Fox got up and quickly shoved Brer Rabbit into the water, making like
this whole situation had only been a prank from the very beginning. Then he took
off running before Brer Rabbit could do more than sputter indignantly at him. As
he ran, Brer Fox vowed never to share this experience with another living soul.
Of course, Brer Bear, Brer Wolf,
and Brer Coon found out that he had sat for over three hours watching his own
reflection anyway. Brer Frog, who had sent Brer Fox to the river in the first
place, told them. They never let him live it down.
Bibliography: Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris (1881).
Authors Note: In the original story, Brer Fox finds his reflection and is captivated. Brer Fox dips his paw in, overbalances, and falls in. He manages to scramble out though. This reminded me of the story of Narcissus, and how he was cursed to fall in love with himself and stare at his reflection until he died. I started out planning to have Brer Fox be captivated by his reflection, and then Brer Rabbit would shove him in the water to snap him out of it. However, when I started typing, this is how my story ended up. I hope you like it!
Hi Cady!
ReplyDeleteI love your take on this story! The way both Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit are tricked by their reflection and captivated by it is an interesting take, quite on the other end of the spectrum from captivation for sure. But Brer Fox pushing Brer Rabbit into the water instead of the other way around like yo were originally planning fits so much better and was a good choice. It really remains in line with the whole trickster persona that goes along with foxes. Great story!
Hi Cady!
ReplyDeleteI like how you changed up the story to be your own in a unique way! I like how you mentioned in your author's note the plan you originally had versus what you actually ended up with for this story. While it doesn't have anything to do with the content you wrote, it just illustrated the power that writing has and that your imagination can truly run wild!
Hello Cady! I like how you put your own spin into the story. When I was reading your author's note, it was really cool to see how you drew comparisons from the story of Narcissus for Brer Fox. It seems like a trickster like him would be captivated by his own reflection. Haha! I also liked how you twisted it and had him push Brer Rabbit in the water to try to save his own trickster image. But then him not knowing Brer Frog was watching the whole time, was a really good add-in. You were able to bring more characters into a short story and still have it all fit together well. I wonder what comments the other animals said to him after finding out? I also wonder if he would ever go get revenge on Brer Frog for doing that to him? Anyways, good job on your story!
ReplyDeleteHowdy Cady!
ReplyDeleteI did really enjoy your interpretation of this tale! The pacing and clear yet vivid descriptions made for a very entertaining read - your story definitely has a sense of animation that I haven't read elsewhere quite yet. Your attention to the internal life of Brer Fox throughout this predicament was especially appreciated, not only how he grew so bored but how you portrayed the subsequent thought process and the moment he changed his mind, abandoning distraction and food in favor of waiting for the 'other fox'.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI read the author's note first as I was not familiar with this story and I think you did a really good job of explaining your take on the story there. I think it was a really well written story with a moral at the end and I think that is what made is special. I would say make it more conversational and also I really liked the image you choose it was very unique! Good job overall, keep it up!
Howdy Cady!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story! A lot of the stories I've read in this class recently have been pretty dark (probably because a lot of the folklore we read gets pretty dark) so this bit of lighthearted fun was a joy to read. One of the things I enjoyed most about this story is simply your way with words. You have an excellent vocabulary and manage to describe what is going on both vividly and concisely (I think my favorite sentence is probably "Brer Fox was set to ignore the whistling he heard down the path behind him, but the being whistling was not content to ignore him.") Honestly though, this story is just a really nice read all around, it's funny, it flows well, and it has a satisfying ending. What more could you ask for?