Robbie Johnson's Mythology and Folklore Blog

 Not as long ago as you would typically think, the possum was by far the coolest animal on the planet. The possum was the superior house-pet and was considered to be a luxury to own. While these animals were not the smartest by any means, they had these luxurious and beautiful tails covered with hair in intricate patterns and colors. Only the wealthiest people could afford these incredibly expensive animals.  One winter morning, a little girl asked her mother for a possum for Christmas. Her mother kindly told her that she did not think they could afford these animals because they were not a wealthy family. The little girl did not understand what life was like as an adult, so she got really angry and sad. All she wanted was a possum because all of her friends had one. The little girl went back to school and told her friends that she could not get a possum like them because her family could not afford it. Instead of being good friends and trying to raise money or let her play wi...

 This story was very interesting to me because I absolutely hate possums. I do not know why I am so afraid of them because they are helpful to the environment by eating ticks and mosquitos, but I just think they are the creepiest looking animals. One thing that makes them even more creepy to me is the weird naked tail. I thought it was very cool that this story gave a background explanation on why their tail is this way. I thought it was very clever how they wrote the story and made the tail bare. I liked how they created a backstory on how the possum used to have the prettiest tail of all of the animals and was so proud of it. This was an interesting story and I could see myself rewriting it with my own twist.  ( possum ) Bibliography:  Myths of the Cherokee  by James Mooney (1900).