Why the Deer’s Teeth Are Blunt: A Cherokee Tale!

The Rabbit was angry. The Deer had won the race and earned magnificent horns. Now the Rabbit wanted revenge.

One day, the Rabbit found a thick grapevine stretching across the forest trail. He gnawed it almost completely in two, then stepped back. He ran forward and jumped at the vine, biting it with all his strength. He kept jumping and biting as the Deer approached.

“What are you doing?” asked the Deer.

“I’m so strong I can bite through this grapevine in a single jump,” boasted the Rabbit.

The Deer didn’t believe him. He watched as the Rabbit ran back, jumped high, and bit clean through the vine at the weakened spot. The Deer was impressed.

“I can do that too,” he said confidently.

The Rabbit stretched a new grapevine across the trail—but this time, he didn’t gnaw it first. The Deer ran back and jumped, striking the vine hard. It snapped back like a whip and threw him to the ground. Bruised and bleeding, the Deer tried again and again. Nothing worked.

Finally, the Rabbit spoke. “Let me see your teeth.”

The Deer opened his mouth. His teeth were long like a wolf’s, but they weren’t sharp at all.

“That’s your problem,” said the Rabbit. “Your teeth are too blunt. Let me sharpen them like mine.”

The Rabbit showed the Deer a black locust twig, shaved smooth as a knife rabbit teeth. The Deer agreed to the help.

The Rabbit found a rough stone and filed away at the Deer’s teeth. He filed and filed until the teeth were worn down to the gums.

“It hurts,” complained the Deer.

“It always hurts when teeth get sharp,” lied the Rabbit. “Keep still.”

When the Rabbit finished, he told the Deer to try biting the vine again. The Deer opened his mouth and bit down. Nothing happened. His teeth were now too blunt to bite anything.

“Now you’ve paid for your horns,” laughed the Rabbit as he bounded away into the forest.

And that is why, to this very day, the Deer’s teeth remain blunt. They can only chew grass and leaves!