49. Rabbit Engineers a Tug of War Between Two Tie-Snakes

49. RABBIT ENGINEERS A TUG OF WAR BETWEEN TWO TIE-SNAKES (70)

Two Tie-snakes lived on opposite sides of a river bend, unknown to each other. Rabbit, however, knew that they were both there, so one day he went to one of them and said, "Let us got a grapevine and have a tug of war against each other." The snake agreed and they appointed a time. Then Rabbit went over to the Tie-snake

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on the other side of the bend and made the same agreement with him. After that he got a grapevine and at the time appointed carried one end to one snake and the other end across to the other. Marks were set to see which could pull the other across. Then Rabbit stationed himself in the middle and shook the vine, and they began pulling, each thinking that Rabbit was at the other end and they thought he was much stronger than they had taken him to be. Each in turn pulled the other near the mark when the other would drag him back. Finally they went around the bend and discovered each other. They were angry with Rabbit and made it a rule that he should not have any water, but he turned himself into a speckled fawn and in that shape went down and drank all that he wanted.