Joel Chandler Harris wrote his Brer Rabbit stories based on oral tales handed down in the Southern United States. Uncle Remus is the kindly former slave who narrates these African-American folktales. The main characters include the trickster hare called Brer Rabbit-who gets by on his wits-and his adversaries Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The original tales have been retold by a number of contemporary writers.