A long time ago, when the world was new and animals talked to each other, Opossum had a beautiful bushy tail, similar to the squirrel or the skunk. Of course, Opossum’s tail was even better than Squirrel’s or Skunk’s (according to Opossum). “Look at my tail,” Opossum would say, “and see how it sweeps the ground. Look and see how fine the fur is on my tail.” Now, Opossum boasted about many things, but he was especially proud of his tail. Not only was it beautiful, but he had control over its movement as well. He would hold his tail high as he walked and sweep it across the ground in wide motions when he danced, occasionally hitting other animals with it who were close by. The other animals grew tired of this quickly and thought that someone ought to teach that prideful Opossum a lesson, to take him down a peg or two.
Of all of the animals who wanted Opossum to stop bragging about himself, none were more determined than Rabbit. You see, Rabbit had a long tail once too, but Bear ripped it off of him after Rabbit stole Otter’s coat. Rabbit was jealous of Opossum, and every time Opossum would brag about his tail that jealousy grew. Eventually, Rabbit could bear his envy no longer, and he concocted a plan to stop Opossum’s boasting for good. He shared his plan with the other animals, who gladly agreed to offer their assistance. With the plan set, and all of the pieces in play, Rabbit approaches Opossum, inviting him to a party. Opossum agrees to attend, but on one condition:
“I want to be given a special seat where everyone can see my tail,” Opossum says.
“Oh, of course you will be given a special seat, Utsetsasdi. No one else has a tail as fine as yours,” Rabbit assures him. This request fits even better into his plans to humiliate the marsupial.
Perhaps detecting the jealousy in Rabbit’s voice, Opossum smiles his trademark grin. “Your tail would have been in the running, Tsisdu. Tell me, are you and Yona on speaking terms again? It must have hurt quite a bit to feel his claws tear through your tail like that.”
Rabbit bristles at the jab, his cotton tail twitching. “Yona will be attending the party if that is what you are asking. Every animal is invited.”
After Rabbit leaves, Opossum is visited by Cricket, who is known as the Barber. “I have come to get your tail ready for the party,” Cricket says. What he does not tell Opossum...is that Rabbit sent him. Opossum happily lies down and allows Cricket to work, closing his eyes in contentment as Cricket runs his hands through Opossum’s fur. As Cricket does this, he very quickly and very carefully pulls out each hair on Opossum’s tail. He moves so quickly that Opossum does not feel it, and he ties red ribbons around the tail, so that the hair still looks attached. When he is finished, he tells Opossum, “Leave the ribbons on until you are at the dance. You would not want to risk the fur getting disheveled before it.”
This sounds quite reasonable to Opossum, who has no reason to suspect ill of Cricket. He thanks the Barber and goes to the party. As Rabbit promised, there is a special seat for him, in full view of everyone. There is a hole in the back of the seat which allows his tail to be in view while he is seated.
When he is ready to dance, he unties the ribbons around his tail, not seeing it since the chair blocks his view. As he dances, he sings, “Look at my tail and see how it sweeps the ground. Look and see how fine the fur is on my tail.”
Opossum notices the other animals are laughing and looks down at his tail. He gasps at the horror of it. His tail, his beautiful tail, is bare. It is hairless, scaled, and white, like that of a lizard or a rat. Everyone is looking at him and that hideous tail. Embarrassment does not begin to describe his mortification. His heart hammers in his chest, and he bares his teeth in a pained grimace. The feeling of dread builds in him until he faints like that, with his teeth bared and his tail tucked in, as if trying to hide it from view. This is now how all opossums faint. Some say it is out of shame at someone else seeing their hairless tails.
Author's Note
First, there are a couple of new words that I need to inform you on.
· Tsisdu (jee-stew) means Rabbit.
· Yona (yo-nah) means Bear. It is also a fairly popular girl’s name in my hometown. There are more people named Yona than there are people with my name.
Second, a few facts about opossums that influenced the story. Opossum tails are prehensile. Adult opossums cannot comfortably support their weight with their tails, but their tails are surprisingly strong, nonetheless. I have had to pry them off of my fence before and let me tell you, those little marsupials have got some grip strength in their tails. Another opossum fact is that the fainting is not a conscious act. It is a biological response to distress that develops in their adolescence. That is why younger opossums can’t always faint when threatened. The opossums like to sneak into my yard to steal cat food and I have had to carry quite a few away from my dogs afterwards (don’t worry, my dogs only spook them a little; the worst they’ve done is step on a tail). The opossums’ body temperature is too low for rabies to survive so it is extremely rare for one to contract rabies. Part of the faint response is that the salivary glands activate, giving the appearance of a frothy mouth (to fool predators into thinking the opossum is diseased). I mention this because it is a common misconception about opossums and I really think that is why people don’t like them.
This story is an adaptation of the Cherokee myth “Why the Opossum’s Tail is Bare.” In the Mooney text, it does not mention the other animals being in on the trick (besides Cricket) but when I was told the story it was at least implied that the trick was the reason for the party and why the animals gave Opossum a special chair. I always found this story strange because the punishment felt like it went a little too far. I mean, whenever Rabbit is punished in the myths, it is for a trick he played on someone else (like the explanations for his tail and split lip). Rabbit even has a myth with a similar theme of arrogance. In that myth, he brags about his speed, only to lose a race to Tortoise. I found that funny, when Rabbit is boastful, his punishment is to lose a race, but when Opossum is boastful, he gets permanently disfigured. In my version, I did try to make Opossum come off as more snide in his arrogance, to make the inevitable feel a little more earned. However, I also focused more on Opossum's emotions afterwards, to keep him in a somewhat sympathetic light.
Another point where I differed from the Mooney text is in how much Opossum knows. In the Mooney version, Rabbit tells Opossum he will send Cricket to dress his tail. I changed this because I felt that my Opossum was smarter than that. My Opossum is suspicious of Rabbit because he knows Rabbit is a trickster, and my Rabbit knows that Opossum does not trust him. I felt that this Opossum getting tricked relied on just how many animals were in on the trick.
Bibliography
"Why the Possum's Tail is Bare" from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney. Story Source.
Image Information
Opossum Drawing by Gustav Mutzel from Wikimedia Commons.