The second story is one that has a close Brer Rabbit parallel which you can read here: Mr. Rabbit Nibbles Up the Butter. You can also find a German version in the Brothers Grimm unit for this class: Cat and Mouse in Partnership. In this story, Anansi does something that tricksters often do: not content merely to trick somebody, they boast about their trick, admitting exactly what they did but in an elusive way so that their victim does not even understand what the trickster is saying to them.
[Notes by LKG]
This story is part of the Jamaican Stories unit. Story source: Jamaica Anansi Stories by Martha Warren Beckwith (1924). I have removed the eye-dialect.
Eggs and Scorpions
Blinkie and Anansi was going in a wood. Them going in a wood for go look egg, bird egg.
And Anansi tell Blinkie when little bird say, "Who want little egg?" Blinkie for say him want little egg, and when the big bird say, "Who want big egg?" Anansi say, "Me want big egg!"
And in the night when Anansi get all the big egg, Blinkie get vexed and left Anansi in the bush and him fly away with the light.
And Anansi come-a Tiger house in-a night. Tiger had a sheep in yard.
Anansi say, "Brer Tiger, if you give me dinner for eat tonight, I give you all the egg."
And Tiger say yes, and Tiger go to the sheep and say, "Lay out, lay out, sheep!" He lay out roast fowl, roast duck, and all sort of things. Anansi get at it.
When he eat, say want to sleep Tiger house.
Tiger set scorpion round the egg. When Anansi put hand in to take the egg, scorpion bite him.
And holler, "Aye-e-e!"
Tiger say, "Brer Anansi, what have you?"
And say, 'Me three little pickney and me wife make me a-cry."
Then, when Tiger gone to bed, he thief away the sheep.
The Christening
Some days after, Anansi says to Tiger, "I receive a letter for a christening." When he return, Tiger ask him the name of the child. He says the name is "Top take off."
Another week came again. He say receive another letter for another christening. After he come back, Tiger ask him what's the name of the child again. He says, "Catch in the middle."
And the last week he went back for another christening. Tiger ask him when he come back what's the name of the child. He says, "Lick clean."
Now he says, "Tiger, let us go look for this keg of butter."
He carried Tiger all over the place walking until he get tired, and when he nearly catch to the place where they hid the butter he said, "Tiger, we are tired, let us go for a sleep!"
And after Tiger was sleeping, he went to the keg, he took a bit of stick and he scrape as much as he can get from the keg, and he wipe a little on Tiger mouth and he wipe a little at the tail. Then he climb a tall tree now and he make a wonderful alarm that Tiger eat butter until he melt butter!
(500 words)
