45. Opossum and Skunk

45. OPOSSUM AND SKUNK (48)

Opossum used to have a bushy tail. Skunk's tail was slender and bare, and Opossum saw it and laughed at him. Traveling along behind him he said, "Skunk's tail is lōfga; ² my tail is wåtålwåtål." ³ Then Skunk became angry, but he did not know what he could do about it. After they had traveled a considerable time he said, "I wish I could clip your tail." So he hunted up his friend Cricket, and talked to him. "Opossum called me 'Lōfga tail.' When he is asleep go to him, cut his tail off, and fix it on my tail. Then, when Opossum gets up we will laugh at him." He did so. Since then Opossum has been so sad that he always keeps his mouth open and drools.

Footnotes

200:2 Probably a Creek word meaning "scraped."

200:3 Said to be in the Opossum language.