Bear in the Hill, The

DESCRIPTION: "There's a bear in yon hill, and he is a brave fellow." The bear goes out to seek a wife. He meets and courts a possum. She will marry him if her uncle (the raccoon) agrees. The agreement is made and the couple married
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: animal talltale courting marriage love request
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lomax/Lomax-AmericanBalladsAndFolkSongs, pp. 162-163, "The Bear in the Hill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15552
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Frog Went A-Courting" (plot)
NOTES [36 words]: Looks to me like a deliberate rewrite of "Frog Went A-Courting." In support of this, we note that it is very rare in oral tradition. Maybe somebody's kid wanted a song about a bear getting married instead of a frog? - RBW
File: LxA162

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