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.





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