Why Little Hare has such a Short Tail

‘Sho,’ ses he, ‘dem cows stray off? Dey’s got mo’ sense,’ ses he.

“It was yust sich a easy yob dat in a while his eye ’gun a-wanderin’ round to see what else dere is dere besides de cows an’ de rest of it. An’ fust he sees a little bushiekie, wid green leaves like he swears he ain’t seen afore, or leastways he ain’t ’xamined much; so o’ course he hops over to dat an’ pretends to tas’e it, an feel it, an’ turn it over gen’ally.

“Den he sees de blesbuck wanderin’ past, wid de teenty little buckies whimperin’ an’ nosin’ ahter deir mammies, an’ fust he squot an’ watch ’em, an’ den he get to feelin’ cussed, an’ he fair hop round ’em to scare ’em an’ make ’em flurry, till deir mammies turn round an’ chase him out o’ dat. Next he slant his eye at de spruit an’ tinks he’ll yust sa’nter down an’ frow stones at Ou’ Sculpat, de Tortoise, an’ ax him what’s his latest time for a mile wid a flyin’ start. Den he can hear Ou’ Sculpat use some rocky ole words.

“But when he gets down to de spruit Ou’ Sculpat ain’t dere at all, an’ dat make him hoppin’ mad. He’s yust dat mad he chucks stones into de water an’ savages de reeds for anoder five minutes on end. Den he looks up an’ dere he sees de honey-bird a-whickerin’ about. ‘Whatto!’ ses Hahsie. ‘Dere’s honey somewheres. Here’s on to it like one man.’

“Well, he hops on ahter de honey-bird, an’ he hops on an’ on, tinkin’ every mile he’s gun’ to get to dat honey soon. An’ den here comes a man ridin’ along, an’ he sees de honey-bird too, an’ he ’gins to folio’ as well. Hahsie looks at him once, an’ he sizes his face up. ‘Dat lets me out,’ ses he to hisse’f. ‘Dat face ain’t a-gun’ to stand me gettin’ any o’ dat honey. I’d about better turn back.’

“So he turns back, but de day’s got dat hot an’ de shade under de little bushiekies is dat cool, he tinks he’ll rest him a little while an’ den go on agen. Wid dat he finds a nice bush an’ squots him down. An’ you know what’s bound to happen den—he pop off to sleep.

“Along in de afternoon, when de day gets a bit cooler, he wake up an’ open his eyes.