The Real Reason I Married Jacob

Every year I get really nervous that for some reason the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is going to stop sending out Christmas ornaments to all its tribe members.  It's usually on the day in December when we get the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma official wall calendar, which I really wish they would stop sending out.  But never fear!  Yesterday we got this year's trinket in a nice little box and I totally love it!  Here is a pic for you:

#7 in my collection

It's a raccoon, or "shaui" as we call him in our native Choctaw tongue, complete with moving tail, on a tree- with full color wood-grain design.  Nice job, Chief Pyle!  AND as an added bonus, there was even a tiny card inside the box with the Choctaw children's legend of "Why the Possum's Tail has no Fur."  It's about time someone finally revealed that mystery! If you must know, it is because raccoon told possum that the way he got his beautiful bushy, ringed tail was that he "wrapped hickory bark around it and singed it." (Well, that sounds reasonable.)  Possum tried to do the same, but was some kind of lame-o and set his whole tail on fire, thus removing all hair from it forever.  Also according to the legend, this is the reason possums travel only at night; they are embarrassed and "sulking".  So if you ever hear some animals tussling at night in your backyard, it's probably just some raccoons and possums mixing it up over tail envy.