Compère Lapin and the Well

In the French Caribbean islands — Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin — storytellers tell tales about a little rabbit named Compère Lapin. In French Creole, "Compère" means "friend" or "neighbor." And Compère Lapin is almost as clever as Anansi the spider, though he would never admit it if you asked him.

One year, there was a terrible dry season. The rain forgot to come. The rivers shrank to trickles. The mango trees dropped their leaves early. The animals of the forest gathered around the last deep well in the valley, and there they made a rule: only the strong may drink. Tiger stood in front, growling. Elephant stood behind him. "You are too small," they said to Compère Lapin. "There is not enough water for everyone. Go away, little rabbit."

Compère Lapin did not argue. He nodded politely, twitched his little nose, and hopped away into the bush. But that night, when the moon was high, he came back. He tied a long, strong vine to the handle of a wooden bucket. He climbed carefully down into the cool, dark shaft of the well. And then he waited.

Just before dawn, Tiger came stalking down the path, thirsty and sleepy. He put his big paws on the edge of the well and leaned over to drink. And from far, far down at the bottom, a low, ghostly voice began to sing. "Whoooo comes to drink from the well of the dead? Whooo dares disturb the water of the ancestors?"

Tiger nearly jumped out of his stripes. He turned and ran so fast his tail whipped the leaves off the bushes. He crashed through the forest shouting, "The well is haunted! The well is haunted!" By the time the sun came up, every big animal in the forest had heard the story, and not one of them would go near the well.

Compère Lapin climbed out at his leisure, dusted himself off, and drank as much cool water as he wanted. He filled bowls for the smaller animals — mouse, lizard, tree frog — who had also been chased away. And he reminded everyone of a lesson the little creatures of the forest already knew but sometimes forget: being small is not the same as being powerless. A clever mind and a brave heart can water a whole village.