<P> In one tale, Br'er Fox constructs a doll out of a lump of tar and dresses it with some clothes . When Br'er Rabbit comes along, he addresses the tar "baby" amiably, but receives no response . Br'er Rabbit becomes offended by what he perceives as the tar baby's lack of manners, punches it and, in doing so, becomes stuck . The more Br'er Rabbit punches and kicks the tar baby out of rage, the worse he gets stuck . </P> <P> Now that Br'er Rabbit is stuck, Br'er Fox ponders how to dispose of him . The helpless but cunning Br'er Rabbit pleads, "Do anything you want with me--- roas' me, hang me, skin me, drown me--- but please, Br'er Fox, don't fling me in dat brier - patch," prompting the sadistic Br'er Fox to do exactly that because he gullibly believes it will inflict the maximum pain on Br'er Rabbit . As rabbits are at home in thickets, however, the resourceful Br'er Rabbit escapes . </P> <P> The story was originally published in Harper's Weekly by Robert Roosevelt; years later Joel Chandler Harris wrote of the Tar - Baby in his Uncle Remus stories . </P> <P> Variations on the tar - baby legend are found in the folklore of more than one culture . In the Journal of American Folklore, Aurelio M. Espinosa examined 267 versions of the tar - baby story . The next year, Archer Taylor added a list of tarbaby stories from more sources around the world, citing scholarly claims of its earliest origins in India and Iran . Espinosa later published documentation on tarbaby stories from a variety of language communities around the world . </P>

What did brian use the rabbit skin for