HOW ANIMALS CAME TO LIVE ON EARTH

"How Animals Came to Live on Earth" is a very old story told in the Southern states of America and has been retold my many authors. So this is my version of this story. In recanting African American folk literature, the "Mother Tongue" or vernacular dialect remains in tack. In this way, we can begin to examine the dialect of the southern speech pattern or spoken soul of African Americans.

When ever I tell stories I can still hear my grandmother Phedora Works voice. She made quilts for us kids from scraps of material and old clothes. She stuffed the quilts with cotton she picked with her own hands from the cotton fields of Pinebluff Arkansas. Her quilts covered our bodies in silent stories as we slept at night. Sometimes, the Stories in the quilts came to life whenever a question was asked about a piece of material or where the cotton came from. We kids would listen with wide eyes of wonder to Big Momma tell her stories.

Lambert van Buuren

HOW ANIMALS CAME TO LIVE ON EARTH

Long time ago, and way back in the beginning, most animals didn’t live here on the earth. They lived next door to Grandmother Moon, way up in the sky and might still be there if Bruh Rabbit and Grandmother Moon hadn’t had that big-o-misunderstanding. How it came about was like this.

You see the animals liked to sit in their backyard and look over the fence at Grandmother Moon, they thought that she was the most beautified thing they had ever seen. Well, one night they was watching her and they notice that she was, pardon the expression, losing weight. On that account, Bruh Rabbit being the sort that he is, decided he would go over and find out what was going on.

“What’s the matter Grandmother Moon, ya don’t look yo usual full self dese days. As matter-uh-fact ya lookin’ a bit melancholy. Is dere anythin’ I can do fur ya,” Bruh Rabbit inquired?

“Well, to tell ya the truth Bruh Rabbit I is in my waning stage. In other words I is takin’ a vacation ‘cause I need to take a break from Bruh Sun who is always chasin’ me across the sky,” Grandmother Moon said.

“Is dere anything I can do fur ya,” Bruh Rabbit wanted to know?

“Oh no Bruh rabbit I don’t think you the man to do the job I need doin’,” said Grandmother Moon.

Bruh Rabbit was insulted so he says to Grand mother Moon, “I is more of a man den Bruh Sun is. At least I don’t be chasin’ ya across the sky tryin’ to get yo affection the way he do. I jest sits in my back yard and admire ya from afar.”

Grandmother Moon smiled and said to Bruh Rabbit, “Alright Bruh Rabbit don’t get yo’self all huffed up. I’ll give ya a try if’n ya feel that strongly about it. I need to get word to Ms Woman and Mr. Man. Tell ‘em I’ll be takin’ a little vacation and my light will get less and less for the next few days. You know Bruh Rabbit, I don’t want Ms Woman and Mr. Man to look up in the sky and see my light is out and get scared. Know what I mean?

“I know what ya mean Grandmother Moon. I’ll be more than happy to take the word to ‘em. Ya know I’s been wantin’ to see what Ms Woman and Mr. Man looked like anyway. “Cause it’s awful hard to see ‘em from way up here,” Bruh Rabbit said.

Grandmother Moon thanked Bruh Rabbit for his willingness to help. She then said to him, “I want ya to tell Ms Woman and Mr. Man that I am goin’ on vacation to rest up and get some more light so I can brighten up the sky at night.” She paused and looked away for just a moment, then she said, “I also want you to tell Ms Woman and Mr. Man that as I go so shall I come.” Before Grandmother Moon could look back in the direction where Bruh Rabbit was standing, he had already taken that long running start and jumped a long jump through space, passed the stars. “I know I shouldn’t a trusted that rabbit, he just cain’t stay still long enough to keep his pants on. If’en he had pants to keep on in the first place,” Grandmother Moon said as she shook her head.

Bruh Rabbit landed on the earth tumbling head over tail, head over tail. When he stopped rolling he was so scared, his eyes almost popped out his head and you know that’s how this eyes been ever since. He laid there for a minute then he stood up and checked himself to make sure that all his parts were in the right places and in working order. Sho nuff they were.

He looked around and saw a mouth-watering garden made by Ms Woman. He had never seen such a garden in all his born days. Her garden had all the foods he had dreamt of almost every night. It was filled with lettuce, cabbage, green peas, sweet peas, green beans, collard greens, mustard greens and lots of carrots. Bruh Rabbit looked around some more he saw animals he had never seen before standing in Mr. Man’s field, but we can talk about them animals at another time.

Anyway, Bruh Rabbit remembered he had a message to deliver so he walked up on the porch where Ms Woman and Mr. Man were sitting having their tea. “Howdy do ya’ll, I’s got a message fur ya from Grandmother Moon,” he said as he eyeballed them from head to toe. Now Ms Woman and Mr. Man looked at each other and then back at Bruh Rabbit, ‘cause they ain’t never seen an animal that could talk like this here critter befo. Bruh Rabbit ain’t even thought about the fact that they ain’t never seen the likes of him ‘cause he had forgot the message. So he just stands there for a minute. The he clears his throat and he says, “Oh yah, Grandmother Moon told me to tell you, she going away and as you go, you shall never return, so if ya don’t see her light that’s why.” Well, that jumbled up message got Mr. Man so scared of dying that he’s been trying to find a way to live forever, all on the count of that visit from Bruh Rabbit.

Well, after he talked Ms Woman into letting him fill his belly with some of the food from her garden; he turned and waved good-bye. He took a long running start, he jumped passed the stars, through space up to Grandmother Moon’s place in the sky. Ms Woman tried to console Mr. Man that the message was a jumbled up message but Mr. Man has never stopped looking for life ever lasting. When Bruh Rabbit told Grandmother Moon what he had said to Ms Woman and Mr. Man, don’t you know she got some kinda mad at Bruh Rabbit. Why she was so mad at Bruh Rabbit that she whacked him a good lick with her cane and that’s how all rabbits come to have a split lip to this day.

When Bruh Rabbit went on back home he saw all the rabbits had split lips on count of that whack Grandmother Moon gave him. So , he up and told the animals that lived in the sky all about his falling out with Grandmother Moon. And just to get back at her for giving him a split lip, he told the other animals all about Ms Woman and her wonderful garden and he told eb’body about Mr. Man and his fields of food and the new animals he saw. Before long Bruh Rabbit had talked all the animals into going down and seeing the new wonders for themselves.

Just to make sure the sky animals stayed on earth, he up and told them that they could still see Grandmother Moon from down there and it was a much better view. The followed Bruh Rabbit’s lead and took a long running jump and that’s how all the sky animals came to live on the earth.

I hop you enjoyed this story and look forward to your comments about Bruh Rabbit.