How Rabbit Lost His Tail- Traditional Literature

How Rabbit Lost His Tail
A Traditional Cherokee Legend
By: Deborah L. Duvall

Rabbit, whose Cherokee name is Ji-Stu is known for his beautiful long tail. Ji-Stu is very proud of it, and loves to show it off at the forest dances. All the other animals marvel at it and all the girl animals love to dance with Ji-Stu. One night, Otter comes to the dance, and all the animals' attention shifts to the Otter's magnificent coat, forgetting about Ji-Stu and his tail. The animals plan a council to determine who in the forest owns the most beautiful coat. Ji-Stu has to find a way to steal Otter's coat, in order to win the contest. In the end, Ji-Stu's trickster ways and dishonesty cause him to loose his pride, and his beloved tail.

Before introducing this book to the class, I would teach them about legends and folktales. We would discuss the different types of both, including Pourquoi tales, which lends itself to many Native American tales explaining animal features. After reading this book to the class, we would discuss the reasons that this story can be considered a Pourquoi tale. I would have the students then create their own Pourquoi folktales. They would have to choose an animal, and then write a tale about why it has a certain feature. After the students finish, I would have a "Story Party" day, where I split the class into groups for each person to share their creative tales. The reader would get to sit in a chair sharing their stories, and the other students in the group would form a semi-circle around the chair and listen.