There once was a time in this world that the deer was antler-less. He had absolutely no horns growing out of his head.
One day, he saw some antlers and took great interest in them.
"Hmm... I wonder what those would look like on me. I'm sure they'd fit well and make me look majestic..." the deer thought to himself. He stood by them, admiring each grand curvature and great point.
Just then, a rabbit came up beside him. Te absolute beauty of the antlers stole the rabbit's attention. His gaze on the antlers was unfaltering.
"Wouldn't those antlers look absolutely wonderful atop my head?" the rabbit asked the dear.
"Actually...I was thinking the same thing...but about myself," the deer replied.
Now, the rabbit was a sucker for a good gamble. Especially if it was over something as special as a beautiful set of antlers. He saw the opportunity to win the antlers fair and square - and he jumped on it.
"Let's make this interesting," the rabbit suggested. "We will race. And the winner gets the antlers. How does that sound?"
The deer thought about it. He could easily outrun the rabbit's hops. He knew that the strength of his legs would completely destroy any chance the rabbit had at winning their wager. All he could think about was the antlers atop his head and he knew that this was his chance.
"That sounds absolutely perfect," the deer replied, not wanting to give away his complete confidence. He thought that if he was too over-confident that the rabbit would recall his previous offer.
And so they raced. It was close, with the deer leading in the beginning.
However, as the race wore on, the deer began to become tired. His legs were failing him and his efforts were slowly declining. The rabbit, on the other hand, was steadily completing the race. His muscle was not betraying him, but instead it strengthened his lead.
The deer was utterly wrong-his legs weren't stronger and would not easily allow him to win.
By the end, the rabbit was clearly ahead and crossed the finish line way before the deer.
The deer finally completed the race, and while he was upset, knew that a deal was a deal and graciously let the rabbit have the antlers.
The rabbit put the beautiful antlers atop his head and never took them off.
And that was how the jackalope was created.
Jackalope. Source: Wikimedia
Author's Note: The original story is about how a deer got his horns. There was a race between him and a rabbit in which the winner was awarded horns. The deer won the horns and thus the legend about how the deer got his horns. When I read the original story, I immediately thought of a jackalope. The possibility of the antlers ending up on the rabbit is what inspired me to write this story. Even though that's not what happened or how the story ended, that's what inspired me. I usually write my stories in a way that are closely aligned with the original one, but I have decided to try to expand my writing style in order to expand my creativity by writing stories that are inspired by but not extremely connected to the original story. The image is a picture of the animal I imagined.
Bibliography: This story is part of the Cherokee Myths unit. Story source: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).
Kelsey, what a great twist to a story! I had no idea until reading your author's note that the original story was supposed to be about the legend of the deer getting its antlers. I think it's really interesting how you changed the story to fit your imagination! Thats never an easy thing to do. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you changed up the story and how you gave the plot a twist! As you are reading it, you expect the deer to get the horns because to be honest I never really thought about a rabbit with horns, then as you're reading and realize that it is the rabbit who wins and thus the creation of the jackalope it was a very interesting and surprising turn. I really enjoyed this, good work!
Kelsey, I have never read a story about a jackalope . I like this creativity that you used. Until I read your author's note, I thought that was the real story. Yours stuck to the original so well that I had no idea. It's awesome how I was taken by surprise. Good job!!
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