Myth-Folklore Unit: Brer Rabbit

Overview. Joel Chandler Harris's series of books of Brer Rabbit tales (almost two hundred stories in total) is one of the most important resources we have for African-American folklore study, yet the stories are also difficult to work with. Harris invented a storyteller whom he called "Uncle Remus," and he presents Uncle Remus telling the stories to a little white boy. I have removed the Uncle Remus frame from the stories, and I have also standardized the spelling, removing what is called the "eye-dialect," but I have not standardized the grammar or vocabulary; the stories are told in the English spoken by African Americans in the southern U.S., specifically in Georgia, which is where Harris collected the stories, mostly during the 1870s and 1880s.

Language. You will probably find the stories much easier to read if you read them to yourself out loud. There are also recordings available from LibriVox, although they have the Uncle Remus frame material, so they do not match up exactly, especially at the beginning and the end of the stories.

Story Length. These are all single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Brer Rabbit I. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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Free audiobook available!

READING A:

1. Brer Rabbit and the Calamus Root
2. The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story
3. Why Mr. Possum Loves Peace
4. How Mr. Rabbit Was Too Sharp for Mr. Fox
5. Mr. Fox is "Outdone" by Mr. Buzzard
6. Mr. Wolf Makes a Failure
7. Mr. Fox Tackles Old Man Tarrypin
8. The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf

READING B:

1. Mr. Fox and the Deceitful Frogs
2. Old Mr. Rabbit, He's a Good Fisherman
3. Mr. Rabbit Meets His Match Again
4. A Story about the Little Rabbits
5. Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Bear
6. Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength
7. The Story of the Deluge
8. Plantation Proverbs

(illustration by A. B. Frost)

Myth-Folklore Unit: More Brer Rabbit

Overview. Like the other Brer Rabbit unit, this unit is based on the African-American folktales collected by Joel Chandler Harris in late 19th-century Georgia (see that overview for more information). The stories in the first unit all came from Joel Chandler Harris's first book of Brer Rabbit stories, published in 1880, while the stories in this unit come from Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit, published in 1907, along with other books of Brer Rabbit stories published by Harris. As before, I have removed the Uncle-Remus frametale for the stories, and I have also removed the eye-dialect, standardizing the spelling but without altering the dialect.

Language. You will probably find the stories much easier to read if you read them to yourself out loud. There are also recordings available from LibriVox for each story!

Story Length. These are all single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: More Brer Rabbit. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

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Free audiobooks available:

Brer Rabbit - Uncle Remus

READING A:

1. The Creeturs Go to the Barbecue
2. Brer Rabbit's Frolic
3. Brother Bear's Big House
4. Brer Rabbit Treats the Creeturs to a Race
5. Brer Rabbit and the Gold Mine
6. Brer Rabbit Gets Brer Fox a Hoss
7. Brer Rabbit Finds the Moon in the Mill Pond
8. How Mr. Lion Lost His Wool
9. How Brer Rabbit Got a House

READING B:

1. Mr. Fox Is Again Victimized
2. Mr. Fox Goes A-Hunting
3. The Fate of Mr. Jack Sparrow
4. How Mr. Rabbit Saved His Meat
5. Mr. Bear Catches Old Mr. Bull-Frog
6. How Mr. Rabbit Lost His Fine Bushy Tail
7. Why Mr. Possum Has No Hair on His Tail
8. The End of Mr. Bear
9. Mr. Fox Gets into Serious Business

(Brer Rabbit and Brer Lion)