Mr. Hot Pepper had a very beautiful daughter. Her name was Dookenger.

Many suitors desired to marry Dookenger, and so they came to ask for her hand in marriage.

Mr. Hot Pepper had a large pepper farm in his backyard.

All suitors that came for his daughter would weed grass from the pepper farm.

Suitors that came when the pepper had ripened would pluck it from the farm.

They would work hard, but he would not let any of them to marry his daughter.

He told suitors who came when others had plucked the ripened pepper, "I served my father in-law for three years before I married my wife."

He asked them to sun-dry the pepper as part of the bride price.

When the pepper had dried up, he asked the next set of suitors to put the pepper into bags.

They would pack the pepper with teary eyes and running noses.

The suitors worked very hard. He still refused to let any of them marry his daughter.

One day, all the suitors assembled in his house. They all demanded, "We have had enough. You must let one of us marry Dookenger. The losers will walk away."

He thought of what to do.

He decided to place a large basin of hot pepper before them.

"Anyone who chews six of those peppers will marry Dookenger," he said.

Dookenger's suitors all gathered the following day. Mr. Hot Pepper stood before them with his daughter. He said sternly, "Anyone who chews six pieces of pepper and experiences a burning sensation in the mouth, will not marry my daughter!"

He thought that they would all fail the pepper test.

So many people lined up to take the pepper test.

They would bite it and try to chew but would spit it out! "Sh...sh....sh...water! Give me water...!"

This continued all day long until evening! Nobody had been able to chew one pepper.

Rabbit came along and asked, "Can you permit me to sing along as I chew the pepper?"

"Yes, go ahead," Mr. Hot Pepper said.

Rabbit began to chew the pepper and sing, "Mr. Hot Pepper, 'sh', Mr. Hot Pepper, 'sh', your daughter, 'sh' when she's matured, 'sh', and someone comes, 'sh' for her hand, 'sh' you pluck, 'sh' six pieces, 'sh' of hot pepper, 'sh' and give him, 'sh'...."

".......and when he chews, 'sh' and the pepper hurts, 'sh' he loses her!"

This was how Rabbit tricked Mr. Hot Pepper and chewed all the six pieces of hot pepper.

Mr. Hot Pepper could not do anything else but give out Dookenger to Rabbit to take home.