Some of the Rabbit stories may have come from Europe. Students have pointed out the similarities between French animal tales and those of the African-American tradition, e. g., Iole Apicella of Yale New Haven Teachers Institute.
Similarities

The rabbit and the tortoise appear in the European stories.
In some stories, the trickster fox appears, e. g., "Roman de Renart," Pierre Saint Claud, is mentioned, although others are more familiar to English-speakers. In Africa, the fox is replaced by the jackel in some of the stories.

Courlander quoted this little rhyme from Louisiana cantes about Brother Rabbit:

Ai yè ya, Compère Lapin,
C'est ti bête qui conné sauté.
Wai yè ya, Papa Lapin,
C'est ti bête qui conné: sauté.

Ai ye ya, Brother Rabbit,
He is a little creature who knows how to jump.
(both lines repeated)
Harold Courlander, 1963, "Negro Folk Music, U. S. A.," p. 172-173.