Rabbit As Swineherd


Once the rabbit went out looking for work and he went very far. When he came up to a man he asked him:

"Sir, by any chance would you have some work you could give me? For I haven't been able to find anything," he said.

"Sorry, friend, there won't be any work for a few months, although come to think of it, there might be some now," said the man. "If you agree, you can take care of some of my pigs." "Just give me some work, sir, because that's what I'm looking for," said the rabbit.

"All right, we're in agreement, then. Tomorrow you'll come and work for me," said the man.

At dawn of the next day the rabbit went to watch the pigs. As he was watching the pigs, some hog merchants came by.

"Why don't you sell us your pigs, friend?" the hog merchants asked him.

"No, friends, they aren't mine, I'm just a hired hand and I can't decide all by myself," the rabbit said. They kept on pressuring the rabbit, saying:

"Sell us the animals," they said.

"All right, but if it's O. K. with you, I'm going to cut off their tails," said the rabbit.

"All right, then, cut them off," they said, and they were very pleased. The merchants took the pigs and went off with them. The rabbit buried the tails in the ground. When he had them all buried he went to talk to the pigs' owner.

"Boss, all the pigs have sunk into the swamp," he said. After he told him, the boss went with all his digging tools to where the rabbit deceived him. This is what the rabbit did; he abandoned his boss.

Indigenous Peoples' Literature Return to Indigenous Peoples' Literature

Compiled by: Glenn Welker





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