In the Cherokee tale The Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting, a story is told of a rabbit who was so boastful that no matter whatever he saw anyone else do, he would claim he could do it as well! This trickster was even known to devise schemes to convince the other animals of his lies. The boastful rabbit one day sees the otter diving down deep into the water and eating fish, and decides to claim that he can do this as well. This tricky rabbit convinces all of the other animals of his ability, however, the otter claims that he also eats ducks, and the rabbit immediately claims to do the same. When the trickster rabbit attempts to fulfill this bet by placing a noose around one of the ducks necks, it takes off into the air, taking the rabbit along for the ride. In the end, this former trickster only shows himself to be a fool.
(The Cherokee's Ultimate Trickster, the Rabbit: Wikimedia Commons)
We see the rabbit once again take on the role of trickster in How the Rabbit Stole the Otter's Coat, albeit this time more successfully. In this story, the rabbit hears that among all the animals, the otter had the finest coat of them all. The rabbit soon hatches a plan to steal the otter's coat. The rabbit locates the otter on his way to a council meeting and travels with him. When they come to a place that the rabbit calls The Place Where it Rains Fire, the rabbit warns the otter that he should place his coat on a nearby tree limb so that it does not get burnt during a fire storm in the night. The trickster then throws hot coals over the otter in the middle of the night, shouting to him"it's raining fire!" When the otter runs to the water for cover, the rabbit steals his coat.
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