The Possum used to have a long, bushy tail, and was so proud of it
that he combed it out every morning and sang about it at the dance,
until the Rabbit, who had had no tail since the Bear pulled it out,
became very jealous and made up his mind to play the Possum a trick.
There was to be a great council and a dance at which all the animals
were to be present. It was the Rabbit's business to send out the news,
so as he was passing the Possum's place he stopped to ask him if he
intended to be there. The Possum said he would come if he could have
a special seat, "because I have such a handsome tail that I ought to
sit where everybody can see me." The Rabbit promised to attend to it
and to send some one besides to comb and dress the Possum's tail for
the dance, so the Possum was very much pleased and agreed to come.
Then the Rabbit went over to the Cricket, who is such an expert hair
cutter that the Indians call him the barber, and told him to go next
morning and dress the Possum's tail for the dance that night. He told
the Cricket just what to do and then went on about some other mischief.
In the morning the Cricket went to the Possum's house and said he
had come to get him ready for the dance. So the Possum stretched
himself out and shut his eyes while the Cricket combed out his tail
and wrapped a red string around it to keep it smooth until night. But
all this time, as he wound the string around, he was clipping off
the hair close to the roots, and the Possum never knew it.
When it was night the Possum went to the townhouse where the dance
was to be and found the best seat ready for him, just as the Rabbit
had promised. When his turn came in the dance he loosened the
string from his tail and stepped into the middle of the floor. The
drummers began to drum and the Possum began to sing, "See my
beautiful tail." Everybody shouted and he danced around the circle
and sang again, "See what a fine color it has." They shouted again
and he danced around another time, singing, "See how it sweeps the
ground." The animals shouted more loudly than ever, and the Possum
was delighted. He danced around again and sang, "See how fine the
fur is." Then everybody laughed so long that the Possum wondered what
they meant. He looked around the circle of animals and they were all
laughing at him. Then he looked down at his beautiful tail and saw
that there was not a hair left upon it, but that it was as bare as the
tail of a lizard. He was so much astonished and ashamed that he could
not say a word, but rolled over helpless on the ground and grinned,
as the Possum does to this day when taken by surprise.