Trickster
gets Tricked!
Nothing gives us greater
pleasure than when a known trickster gets what's coming to him. Here is
an example I gathered while reading different regional
collections:
The Fox Who Wanted to Whistle (from Argentina)
More than anyting fox wanted to whistle like partridge. Every
day he practiced, but the sounds that came from his chest sounded like
he was sick, rather than delivering a delightful tune. Puma stopped by
to listen and then said, "You are a creature of many talents, but
whistling isn't one of them!"
Puma went on to suggest that perhaps Partridge would teach him how to
whistle in exchange for an agreement that fox wouldn't eat him. Fox
sought Partridge and told Partridge Puma's suggestion. Partridge
was cautious but finally agreed. She flew several circles around Fox's
head before she gained courage and landed near Fox's head. She peered
at him closely for the first time. "Well, no wonder you can't whistle!
Your mouth is much too long. I'll have to sew it closed along each side
to make it the right size for whistling."
Fox thought for a moment, but was so anxious to whistle he agreed to be
still while Partridge sought a strong shoot of grass for thread and a
feather from her underwing for a needle. She soon had darned the sides
of Fox's mouth using small, tight cross-stitches. When only a
ring-sized opening remained, Partridge bit the thread with her sharp
beak and said, "Now I think you mouth is just right for whistling. Try
it, Mr. Fox!"
Fox released his breath and a whistle came forth that he danced around.
Partridge noted that soon he would be able to whistle as well as she.
Fox mumbled, "I can do that already". Partridge was dismayed by Fox's
vanity. "If you are doing so well by yourself, you no longer need me
around." She began to fly away, and immediately Fox forgot his promise.
He tried to grab her tail feathers, but Partridge's careful sewing
prevented him from his dinner.
Never again did Partridge trust a fox, and Fox was required to tear the
stitches from his cheeks and pout in his den with puffy lips and an
empty stomach.
Two of the tales we shared during our class, fit in the trickster
getting tricked. Patricia McKissack presents a classic slave tale in
which Flossie's on her way to deliver a basket of eggs when a fox stops
her on the road and wants those eggs. Flossie claims not to believe
that he is a fox and, as he tries to prove himself, she gets nearer and
nearer her neighbor's house. When close enough, his hounds know a fox
when they see one. This tale is consistent with other slave tales in
which the smaller, less powerful outwits the more powerful person.
In Jerry Pinkney’s Sam and the Tiger, Sam outwits a group of tigers
that dearly want to eat him for dinner and manages to escape by giving
the tigers his fancy clothes. The tigers end up chasing each other
instead of Sam.