You will find the texts of the stories below the audio, and the titles are linked to individual blog posts where you can learn more about sources, see notes, etc.
You'll want to click on track 51 to start the audio portion for this section:
~ 51. Poor Anansi's Dead ~
"We need food!" Anansi said to his wife. "I'll lie here, and you'll shout that I'm dead."
"My poor husband!" shouted Mrs. Anansi. "Anansi's dead!"
Hawk came by. "Poor Anansi!" said Hawk, and he bowed his head. Anansi jumped up and killed Hawk, and then they ate him.
Then Bull came. "Poor Anansi!" he said, and he bowed his head. They killed him and ate him.
Then Sheep. Then Fowl.
Then Ground-Dove came. "Is he really dead?" Ground-Dove asked. "If he's dead, he should make one last big fart."
Anansi let loose a big fart.
Ground-Dove laughed and ran away.
~ 52. Anansi at the Funeral ~
Anansi's mother-in-law died, and Anansi went to the funeral dressed in his fancy funeral-clothes.
He got hungry during the funeral service, so he snuck into the kitchen. He smelled beans cooking!
Anansi had just scooped up some beans when the cook came in.
Uh-oh!
Embarrassed, Anansi poured the beans into his hat to eat later, and he put the hat on his head.
The burning beans made him dance.
"It's my hat-shaking dance of grief!" Anansi shouted.
Anansi danced until he got away, but it was too late: the beans burned off his hair, and that's why Anansi is bald.
~ 53. Anansi and the Plantains ~
Anansi and his family were starving.
At last, Anansi found some food: plantains.
There were four plantains, but five mouths to feed: Anansi, Mrs. Anansi, two sons and a daughter.
Mrs. Anansi roasted the plantains, and Anansi gave one each to the children and one to his wife.
"Don't you worry about me," he said sadly.
"Aren't you hungry?" asked his daughter.
"I'm starving, dear child," said Anansi. "But never you mind."
She broke her plantain and gave half to Anansi.
The two boys did the same.
And Mrs. Anansi.
So Anansi ended up with more food than anybody else.
~ 54. Anansi and the Pork Stew ~
Anansi's wife raised a pig.
"Let's eat your pig!" Anansi said.
"No!" she said. "I'm going to sell it."
Then Anansi pretended to be sick. "Fetch the doctor," he groaned.
Right after she left, Anansi dressed up as the doctor and ran to meet her on the road.
"I'm too busy for house-calls," he said, "but pork stew is good medicine."
Anansi's wife headed home, and Anansi ran to get there first.
"Doctor says you must eat pork stew," Anansi's wife said.
"I'm too sick to eat..." Anansi moaned.
"You must eat pork stew," she replied. "Doctor's orders!"
Anansi smiled.
~ 55. Anansi and the Chicken Soup ~
"I'm so sick," Anansi said to his wife. "Consult the doctor!"
When she left, Anansi ran to the doctor's office and put on the doctor's clothes.
"Anansi's sick!" she said.
"He needs chicken soup!" Anansi replied.
Anansi then ran home before his wife got there. Lying in bed, he sang, "Chicken soup for me, for me, chicken soup for me-oh..."
Mrs. Anansi heard him.
She started cooking. "Ready soon!" she said.
Anansi smelled soup.
She called the village children. "Eat quietly!" she whispered.
They ate the soup.
"Ready now!" she said to Anansi.
Anansi came, but the soup was gone!
~ 56. Anansi and the Yam-Foofoo ~
Anansi planted a special yam named yam-foofoo, and it grew big!
He took some home and cooked it.
"Tell me this yam's name," Anansi said. "Otherwise, you don't eat."
Nobody knew the yam's name, so Anansi ate the whole yam.
Next day, Anansi's youngest son, Cunning-More-Than-Father, mashed some okra and spread it on the ground. Then he hid and watched.
Coming home, Anansi slipped on the okra and fell. "Oh! I dropped my yam-foofoo!" he shouted.
Cunning-More-Than-Father ran home and told everybody.
When Anansi cooked the yam, his wife and children said, "Give us yam-foofoo!" and Anansi had to share.
~ 57. Anansi and the Mangoes ~
Anansi climbed a mango tree by the river. He wanted to eat all the mangoes by himself. Greedy Anansi didn't want to take any mangoes home for his wife or children.
As Anansi was eating the mangoes up in the tree, he looked down into the river.
There was someone with mangoes in the water. Anansi wanted those mangoes too! Anansi wanted ALL the mangoes.
He dropped down into the water.
Splash!
But it was only Anansi's reflection.
Nobody else. No more mangoes.
The river currents carried Anansi away, and he drowned.
That was what happened to greedy Anansi.
~ 58. Anansi's Grave ~
Mrs. Anansi planted peas, but Anansi didn't help.
He pretended he was dying.
"Bury me in the pea-field," he said. "Make a coffin-hole so I can watch the peas growing while I'm dead."
Anansi pretended to die, and they buried him.
Every night Anansi got out of the grave and ate peas.
Anansi's son made a tar-stump to catch him.
"These peas are mine!" Anansi shouted at the tar-stump.
Anansi fought with the tar-stump and got stuck.
Anansi's family found him stuck to the tar-stump.
Anansi was so ashamed he ran up in the rafters, and that's where he stays.
~ 59. Tiger in the Pepper-Plant ~
Anansi hated his son Cunning-More-Than-Father and wanted to kill him.
While Anansi plotted with Tiger, Cunning-More-Than-Father pretended to be asleep under the table, but he was listening.
"Help me kill him!" Anansi said to Tiger.
"I'll hide in the pepper-plant," Tiger said. "Send your son there."
At suppertime, Anansi said, "Son, go pick peppers from the pepper-plant!"
But Cunning-More-Than-Father took a stick from the fire and poked the pepper-plant.
The fire-stick burned Tiger's face! Tiger screamed and ran away.
Cunning-More-Than-Father then told Anansi, "The pepper-plant screamed, so I didn't pick any peppers."
Anansi had to eat supper without any peppers.
~ 60. Tiger in the Yam-Patch ~
Anansi wanted Tiger to kill his son.
"I'll send Cunning-More-Than-Father to get yams," Anansi said. "You hide in the yam-patch and kill him."
While Tiger and Anansi talked, Cunning-More-Than-Father was under the table, listening.
Next day, Anansi told Cunning-More-Than-Father, "Go get yams."
Cunning-More-Than-Father went to the yam-patch, but not too close.
"Hello, yams!" he shouted.
Silence.
He shouted louder. "Hello there, yams!"
Tiger didn't know what to do.
"Anansi wants me to get the talking yams," shouted Cunning-More-Than-Father.
"Talking yams are here!" replied Tiger.
Cunning-More-Than-Father laughed and ran away before Tiger could grab him.
And Anansi didn't get any yams.
~ 61. Cunning-More-Than-Father and the Coconuts ~
Anansi wanted to kill his son Cunning-More-Than-Father.
Cunning-More-Than-Father had gotten away twice, but Anansi said to Tiger, "Let's try again!"
Cunning-More-Than-Father pretended to be asleep, but he listened.
"I'll send Cunning-More-Than-Father up the coconut-tree," Anansi told Tiger. "You catch him when he comes down."
So Cunning-More-Than-Father filled a bag with stinging ants and hid it in the tree.
Next day Anansi said, "Son, go get coconuts."
Cunning-More-Than-Father went up the coconut-tree.
Tiger came and waited below.
"Catch the coconuts, Tiger!" yelled Cunning-More-Than-Father, and he threw the bag of ants on Tiger.
Tiger screamed and ran away.
Cunning-More-Than-Father had survived again.
~ 62. Cunning-More-Than-Father in the Coffin ~
Tiger and Anansi finally caught Cunning-More-Than-Father.
"I'll nail him inside this coffin," said Anansi. "You throw it in the sea."
Tiger took the coffin and headed for the sea.
Along the way, Tiger took a nap.
Inside the coffin, Cunning-More-Than-Father started shouting, "I'm not ready to go to heaven!"
A passing shepherd heard him and said, "Heaven's a good place! I'll go if you don't want to."
The shepherd unnailed the coffin and got in.
Cunning-More-Than-Father nailed the coffin shut.
Tiger woke up, took the coffin, and threw it in the sea.
Cunning-More-Than-Father came home, bringing the sheep with him.
~ 63. Anansi and the Sea-Sheep ~
Tiger was supposed to throw Cunning-More-Than-Father in the sea, but Cunning-More-Than-Father came back home, and he brought a flock of sheep with him.
"But I threw him in the sea!" Tiger shouted.
"Yes, you did!" said Cunning-More-Than-Father. "These are sea-sheep, and where the sea is deeper, the sheep are even bigger."
"I want the big sheep!" shouted Anansi. "Tiger, put me in a coffin and throw me in the deepest sea."
Anansi got in the coffin and Tiger rented a boat to sail to the deepest sea. He threw the coffin in the water.
That was the end of Anansi.
~ 64. Lion, Tacoomah, and Anansi ~
Anansi, Tacoomah, and Lion had an apple tree, and Anansi ate all the apples.
"Who ate the apples?" roared Lion. "We'll let the fire decide."
So they each had to jump over the fire.
Lion sang his Lion-song and jumped over the fire. "Fire proved me innocent!"
Next, Tacoomah sang his Tacoomah-song and jumped. "Fire proved me innocent!"
Next, Anansi sang his Anansi-song and jumped.
He fell in the fire, and the fire burned his shirt.
"I'll try again!"
The fire burned Anansi's underpants. Now Anansi was naked!
Anansi ran up the tree to hide, and he's hiding there still.
~ 65. Tacoomah Rides Anansi ~
Anansi and Tacoomah were courting the same woman.
Tacoomah told her, "Anansi was my father's riding-horse!"
Anansi heard about this and got angry.
"We'll go tell her the truth!" Anansi said.
"I can't go now," said Tacoomah. "I'm sick."
"We must go now!" said Anansi.
"Well," said Tacoomah, "maybe you can carry me."
Anansi let Tacoomah get on his back.
"I'm so weak..." said Tacoomah. "I need my walking-stick to steady myself."
When they got near the woman's house, Tacoomah started beating Anansi with the walking-stick.
Anansi ran.
"Look!" Tacoomah shouted. "Anansi was my father's riding-horse, and now he's mine!"
~ 66. Anansi and the Dog-Head ~
Anansi and Tacoomah went hunting with their dogs.
On the way, Anansi got hungry. He ate his dog, but he kept the head.
Tacoomah's dog killed a cow.
Anansi ran up, chased Tacoomah's dog away, and then put his dog-head there.
"Look what my dog-head did!" Anansi shouted.
"That's impossible!" said Tacoomah.
To trick Anansi, Tacoomah hid in the bushes, making the sound of a whip cracking.
"No, sir," Tacoomah shouted. "No, sir! My dog didn't kill your cow! Anansi's dog-head did that!"
"No!" shouted Anansi. "Not true! Tacoomah's dog did that."
Then Tacoomah came out and took the cow.
~ 67. Anansi Says Tacoomah's Sick ~
Anansi told Tacoomah, "We need meat!"
"I've got a plan," said Tacoomah. "Pretend I'm sick and call for help. When the animals come in the house, I'll chop them up and put them in this barrel."
Anansi liked Tacoomah's plan.
"Help!" Anansi shouted. "Tacoomah's sick! Help!"
Animals came, and Tacoomah chopped, but the barrel wasn't full yet.
Up on the hillside, Goat saw animals going in, but none coming out.
"Is Tacoomah sick?" Goat asked.
"Real sick!" said Anansi. "Please come in! Come help us!"
But Goat ran higher up the hill, and Goat stays on the hillside even now.
~ 68. Tacoomah Makes a Tar-Stump ~
Anansi and Tacoomah were neighbors.
During the night, somebody was stealing Tacoomah's crops.
It was Anansi! But Tacoomah didn't know that.
Tacoomah made a tar-stump to trap the thief.
When Anansi found the tar-stump blocking his way to the field, he got angry. "Move along!" Anansi shouted at the tar-stump.
Tar-stump didn't move.
Anansi fought with the tar-stump and got stuck.
At dawn, Goat walked by.
"Help me fight this devil!" said Anansi.
Goat got stuck, and Anansi pushed himself loose.
Tacoomah came and found Goat. "You're the thief!" Tacoomah shouted.
Tacoomah killed Goat and shared the meat with Anansi.
~ 69. Anansi and Tacoomah's Fire ~
Anansi's fire went out.
"Child," said Anansi, "go to Tacoomah and get fire."
Tacoomah gave the child some fire. "Take this beef-fat too!" Tacoomah said.
The child came back with fire and beef-fat.
"What's that nasty thing?" Anansi asked.
"Tacoomah gave it to me."
"Ugh!" said Anansi. "I'll throw it away."
Anansi was just pretending; he ate the beef-fat and wanted more.
Anansi poured water on the fire.
"Go get more fire!" he said to his other child.
The child came back with fire and beef-fat.
Anansi played the same trick and ate the beef-fat, while his children went hungry.
~ 70. Anansi and the Jumbee House ~
Anansi found a jumbee house. He heard the jumbees say "Jollup-Jellup!" to open the door and "Jug-Up-Shollop" to come back out.
Anansi waited till the jumbees left. Then he said, "Jollup-Jellup!"
Anansi went inside. The house was full of food. Anansi ate the food, and then he said "Jug-Up-Shollop!" to get back out.
"You look fat, Anansi!" said Tacoomah.
"I've been eating jumbee food," Anansi said.
"I want jumbee food too!" Tacoomah said.
Anansi taught him "Jollup-Jellup" but not "Jug-Up-Shollop."
Tacoomah was trapped when the jumbees came back, and the angry jumbees turned Tacoomah to ashes.
Beware the jumbee house!
~ 71. Anansi Gives Tacoomah Advice about Yams ~
Tacoomah was planting yams, and Anansi gave him some advice. "You should boil those yams, put pork inside, and then plant them. That will make the yams grow big and fast!"
Tacoomah did what Anansi said.
When it was night, Anansi came and took the cooked yams full of pork, putting wild yams in their place. Then Anansi feasted on Tacoomah's yams and pork.
The wild yams Anansi left in Tacoomah's field were big, but they had no roots.
At first, Tacoomah rejoiced: the yams were so big!
But soon they shriveled up, and Tacoomah realized Anansi had tricked him.
~ 72. Tacoomah and Anansi's Eggs ~
Tacoomah visited Anansi.
Anansi had one hundred eggs in a nest, and greedy Tacoomah ate ninety-nine of Anansi's eggs.
Then Anansi said, "I'll count my eggs!"
"You don't need to," said Tacoomah. "I'll count them for you."
"Hold each egg up high so I can see it," said Anansi.
Tacoomah went out to the nest and lifted up one egg so that Anansi could see it. "One!" Tacoomah said.
Then Tacoomah lowered the egg into the nest and lifted the same egg up again. "Two!" he said.
So Tacoomah did that one hundred times... but there was only one egg.
~ 73. Anansi's Corn Song ~
Someone was stealing Tacoomah's corn during the night.
Tacoomah blamed Anansi. "You're stealing my corn!" he said.
"I'm no thief!" said Anansi. "I'll prove it to you by staying here all night fiddling."
Then Anansi told his gang. "When you hear me fiddling tonight, go steal the corn."
Here's the song Anansi played, "Corn corn, harvest corn! Go along, get corn, go along!"
Anansi sang and fiddled all night while Tacoomah danced.
Then Tacoomah went to his field.
The corn was gone!
"You can't blame me!" shouted Anansi. "You know I'm innocent."
Tacoomah got so angry he fell down dead.
~ 74. Anansi and the Cats' Wedding ~
Anansi arrived early for the wedding feast of Mister Cat and Miss Cat.
"I'll take care of the food," Anansi said. "Leave it to me!"
But when the bride and groom returned from the wedding, they found the wedding cake was gone, and the wine was all gone too.
"You did this, Dog!" shouted the Cats.
Dog denied it.
Fly went looking for Anansi and found him walking home, his face covered with cake crumbs.
"You're the thief!" shouted Fly.
Anansi swallowed Fly to silence him.
Since then Cat and Dog aren't friends anymore; Fly and Spider are enemies too.
~ 75. Anansi, Dog, and Agouti ~
Anansi wanted to tease Dog and Agouti, so he told them about a trip to Mango-Island. "Only horned animals can board the ship," Anansi said. "Not you!"
But Dog and Agouti both wanted to go, so they made wooden horns, promising to help each other put the horns on their heads.
But when Agouti put the horns on Dog, he ran off and jumped on board, abandoning Agouti.
"Hey Cow, hey Goat, hey Ram!" Agouti shouted. "Somebody doesn't have real horns!"
Ram butted Dog overboard.
Then Dog chased Agouti and bit off his tail; that's how Agouti lost his tail.
~ 76. Dog and Anansi Compare Senses ~
Dog was boasting to Anansi about his many senses.
"I've got sense in my nose," Dog said, "and in my two ears, two eyes, four feet, and I taste with my mouth. Plus brains in my head. I've got eleven senses!"
"I've just got two senses," said Anansi. "I know me, and I know my friend."
The next day Tiger caught Dog.
Anansi saw them.
"I'm going to eat Dog now!" snarled Tiger.
"You better fold your paws and say grace," Anansi said.
Tiger folded his paws to say grace, and Dog got away.
Two senses are better than eleven!
~ 77. Tiger Comes to Kill Anansi ~
Tiger was coming with his friends to kill Anansi.
Anansi's only friend was Dog. "Help me, Dog!" said Anansi, and he told Dog what to do.
When Tiger came to Anansi's yard, he saw Dog holding Anansi down, his head stretched out on a stump.
"Chop my head off now, Tiger!" shouted Anansi. "Just get it over with!"
Tiger came rushing into the yard... and fell down into a deep pit filled with rocks and sharp sticks.
Anansi and Dog had dug that pit.
As Tiger's friends were getting him out of the pit, Anansi and Dog ran off, laughing.
~ 78. Anansi and Dog at the Dance ~
"I like your fancy pants, Anansi!" said Dog. "Will you loan them to me for the dance?"
"They're too small for you," said Anansi.
"No, they'll fit!" Dog insisted.
So Dog squeezed himself into Anansi's pants, and then he went to the dance.
Dog was a good dancer, and he liked to throw his legs up high.
But when Dog did that, he tore Anansi's pants! They ripped all the way from top to bottom.
Anansi was mad and took back his pants there at the dance, and everyone laughed at Dog.
Ever since then, Dog doesn't wear any clothes.
~ 79. Elephant and Anansi's Dance Party ~
Elephant and Anansi were hungry, so they invited Goat and Dog to a dance.
Elephant sang, "I'll guard the door; you know what for!"
Anansi sang, "I'll tell you when! Do it then!"
Dog sang, "Hear that song? There's something wrong!"
Goat sang, "Time for running; time for cunning!"
"Now!" shouted Anansi, but Elephant was slow: Goat and Dog escaped.
Dog swam the river, but Goat couldn't swim.
Goat turned into a rock.
"You can't hit me!" shouted Dog, so Anansi threw the rock.
Goat sprang up on the other side, laughing.
Elephant was so mad that he ate Anansi!
~ 80. Anansi and Goat at the River ~
Goat was running, and Anansi was chasing.
Goat ran and ran, and then he came to the river.
Goat couldn't swim.
Dog was on the other side of the river.
"Help me, Dog!" said Goat, and then Goat turned himself into a stone.
Anansi ran up. "Did you see Goat come this way?" he asked.
"I'll tell you if you throw me that stone," said Dog.
Anansi grabbed the stone and threw it to Dog.
When the stone hit the ground, it turned back into Goat.
"I had Goat in my hand," Anansi groaned, "but then I let him go."
~ 81. Anansi and Dog at the River ~
Anansi, carrying a sack of food, had to cross a river, but he was scared of the alligators.
"Help me, Dog!" shouted Anansi. "I'll give you half my food."
Dog ran down the river and barked so the alligators swam that way.
Then Dog raced back to Anansi and carried him across before the alligators knew what happened.
"Thank you, Dog!" said Anansi.
Then, when Dog wasn't looking, Anansi threw a rock in the river. "Oh no! I dropped my sack!" Anansi yelled.
Dog jumped in. As he splashed around trying to find Anansi's sack, alligators ate him.
Anansi laughed.
~ 82. Anansi and Snake ~
"Be my postman!" Anansi said to Snake.
"What will you pay me?" asked Snake.
"You can have a bite of my head tonight!"
Snake agreed.
Anansi put Rabbit in his bed that night, but Rabbit was suspicious; he dug a hole and escaped.
Snake came calling, "Anansi! Where's your head?"
Anansi called for Rabbit, but there was no answer.
Then Anansi went looking for Rabbit and couldn't find him.
Snake was coming, so Anansi decided to put a pot on his head.
Snake bit the pot. "Ouch!" Biting the pot hurt his mouth.
Snake wasn't friends with Anansi after that.
~ 83. Anansi, Rabbit, and Horse-Fly ~
Anansi visited Godfather Rabbit and Godmother Rabbit.
When Godmother Rabbit went to fetch water, Anansi hit Godfather Rabbit on the head and killed him.
Godmother Rabbit came back and found her husband dead.
"You must bury him, Anansi!" she said.
"I will," said Anansi. "Just give me some lard and a frying pan. Horse-Fly will help me."
Anansi and Horse-Fly took Rabbit into the woods where they cooked him and ate him.
"I'll tell Mrs. Rabbit he was delicious!" said Horse-Fly.
"No, you won't!" shouted Anansi.
Then Anansi cut out Horse-Fly's tongue, which is why Horse-Fly only says bzzz-bzzz-bzzz now.
~ 84. Anansi and the Fish-Pot ~
Anansi was catching fish in the river with a fish-pot.
But Tacoomah kept stealing Anansi's fish!
Anansi hid and waited to catch the thief.
When he saw Tacoomah opening the pot, Anansi slammed it shut and trapped Tacoomah inside.
Tacoomah drowned inside the fish-pot.
Then Anansi went to Rabbit. "I caught a big fish! But I'm feeling poorly and I dare not put my feet in the cold water. Please come drag the fish-pot for me!"
So Rabbit dragged the fish-pot to shore.
When they found Tacoomah dead inside, Anansi yelled, "You killed Tacoomah!"
The police arrested Rabbit for murder.
~ 85. Anansi Combs Lion's Hair ~
Anansi invited Lion to come with him to the king's feast, and Lion accepted.
"You better let me comb your hair," Anansi said. "You look terrible!"
Lion wanted to look his best for the feast, so he agreed.
Everything was going just as Anansi planned!
"Lean here against this tree," Anansi said, and Rabbit was already hiding in a hole there.
Then Anansi combed Lion's hair back, tying it around the tree.
"Now, Rabbit!" Anansi shouted, and Rabbit bit Lion.
Lion leaped and twisted and finally strangled in his own hair.
Together, Anansi and Rabbit celebrated the end of Lion.
~ 86. Anansi Dives for Bananas ~
Rabbit, Anansi, and Bouki were sailing home. They had some bananas and were arguing about how to divide them.
Anansi threw the bananas into the water. "Whoever brings up the most gets the most!"
Rabbit dived first and brought up four bananas.
Bouki dived next; he brought up two.
Anansi dived... and Anansi just floated.
"Let's try again!" said Anansi, and he threw all the bananas into the water. "Tie the anchor to me this time! And I'll go first!"
They tied the anchor to Anansi and threw him in the water.
Anansi sank and never came back up again.
~ 87. Anansi and the Rabbit in the Road ~
Anansi was carrying a basket of fish.
Rabbit wanted those fish, so he lay down in the road and played dead.
"I don't need a dead rabbit," Anansi thought to himself. "I've got fish!"
Anansi kept walking.
Rabbit ran through the grass to get ahead of Anansi and lay down again.
"Maybe I should take these rabbits!" Anansi thought. He put down his fish and ran to get the first rabbit.
But that rabbit was gone.
When Anansi ran back, the second rabbit was gone.
And so was his basket of fish!
Rabbit had fooled Anansi and taken his fish.
~ 88. The Law against Insults ~
"No insults!" said the king. "If you insult someone, you'll drop dead!"
That gave Anansi an idea!
He got a hoe and dragged it back and forth across some rocks.
Hog was watching. "What are you doing?" Hog asked Anansi.
"I'm planting crops!" Anansi said.
"Crops won't grow on rocks," Hog said. "You're an idiot!"
Hog dropped dead, and Anansi ate him. "Delicious!"
Anansi dragged his hoe across the rocks again.
This time, Duck was watching. "What are you planting?" Duck asked.
"Who plants crops on rocks?" replied Anansi. "You're an idiot!"
Anansi dropped dead, so Duck ate Anansi. "Delicious!"
~ 89. Anansi and the Well ~
There was a drought.
The animals dug a well, but Anansi was lazy. He didn't help.
"No water for you!" the animals said to Anansi when the well was done.
To guard the well, they made a tar-baby.
Anansi came to drink at the well.
"Hello there, gal!" he said when he saw the tar-baby. The tar-baby said nothing.
"Give me a kiss!" Anansi said. The tar-baby said nothing.
Anansi slapped the tar-baby. His hand stuck.
Again. Other hand stuck.
Anansi butted the tar-baby with his head. Stuck!
Both feet: stuck!
And then the animals came and caught Anansi there.
~ 90. Anansi and Ram Go Thieving ~
Anansi and Ram were stealing, and the watchman chased them.
They jumped in a hole, but Ram's horns stuck out.
The watchman tripped on the horns. Ram was going to scream but Anansi hissed, "Shush!"
The watchman kicked the horns. "That hurts," Ram said. "Quiet!" said Anansi.
Then the watchman sawed off the horns. "I can't stand it!" Ram screamed.
The watchman grabbed Ram and took him to court.
"Anansi was thieving too!" said Ram.
"I was not!" shouted Anansi.
Ram and Anansi fought, and Ram butted Anansi up on the roof.
Spiders stay up on the roof even now.
~ 91. Anansi and the Stolen Pig ~
Anansi stole a pig.
Then he went to the river for water to make stew, and River-Snake grabbed him.
"I'll let you go if you share your stew with me," said River-Snake.
Anansi agreed.
They went to where Anansi had tied the pig.
River-Snake said, "I'll soften the pig up for you!" He swallowed the pig in one gulp.
Anansi called to Crow, "Hey Crow! Carry River-Snake away from here!"
Crow carried River-Snake away, but River-Snake was heavy and Crow dropped him.
River-Snake fell down, burst open, and the pig jumped out.
Anansi made the stew and ate it all.
~ 92. Anansi, Snake, and the Rock ~
Snake was trapped under a big rock.
"Save me!" Snake shouted when Anansi walked by.
"No!" said Anansi. "You'll eat me."
"I won't eat you, I promise!" shouted Snake. "I'll be your friend forever!"
Anansi rolled away the rock.
"Now I'm going to eat you!" said Snake.
"That's not fair!" said Anansi.
Agouti walked by. "Be our judge, Agouti!" they said.
"Well," said Agouti, "you better show me what happened."
"I was under this rock," said Snake, and then Anansi rolled the rock back on Snake.
"Leave him!" said Agouti. "He'll have to find some other fool who trusts him."
~ 93. Anansi, Agouti and the Fish-Traps ~
Anansi and Agouti were fishing partners.
They checked their fish-traps: there were many fish, but the fish were small.
"There will be bigger fish tomorrow," said Anansi. "You take these."
"You take them," said Agouti. "I'll take the bigger fish tomorrow."
The next day, there were bigger fish, but only a few.
"There will be more fish tomorrow," said Anansi. "You take these."
"You take them," said Agouti. "I'll take more fish tomorrow."
So it went, day after day: Anansi got all the fish, and Agouti got none because he preferred the fish of tomorrow to the fish of today.
~ 94. Anansi Chasing the Goat ~
"I'm going to eat you, Goat!" said Anansi.
"You can't catch me!" said Goat.
So Goat ran, and because Goats run fast, he got away.
A few days later, it rained, and Goat ran to the nearest house.
It was Anansi's house!
Anansi opened the door and sang:
"Rain made this meat run here for me to eat!
Thank you, Rain! I'll sing it again..."
When Goat heard this song, he knew to stand back.
Anansi kept singing; Goat kept backing away.
Then Goat began running, and Anansi ran after him.
For all I know, Anansi is chasing him still!
~ 95. Anansi and Baboon ~
"I'm fatter than you!" Anansi said to Baboon.
"No!" said Baboon. "I'm fatter!"
They stood before the fire to see who melted the most fat.
Anansi didn't melt any fat, but Baboon oozed lots of fat.
Baboon's fat smelled so good that Anansi ate Baboon, but the bits in his stomach turned back into Baboon. Anansi felt sick!
The doctor told Anansi to put a banana in his mouth. "Baboon will come out to get the banana and run out your mouth."
It worked!
Anansi was glad to get Baboon out of his stomach.
And even now Baboons love bananas.
~ 96. Anansi and Rat ~
Rat liked to dress up in fine clothes, acting like he was better than everyone else.
Rat's proud ways made Anansi angry.
So, at the next big dance, when Anansi's band was playing, Anansi got his revenge.
"Strut your stuff, Rat!" shouted Anansi. "Show us what you've got!"
Rat started to dance.
Then Anansi played faster. And Rat danced faster.
Anansi played even faster. And Rat danced even faster, jumping and leaping, twirling and whirling.
RIP!
Rat's pants tore right down the middle.
Anansi laughed. Everybody laughed.
Rat ran and hid in his hole, and that's where Rat stays today.
~ 97. Anansi and Elephant ~
Elephant was boss of the work-gang.
"Go fetch water!" Elephant said to one of the workmen.
Anansi was there at the water-hole, playing his fiddle:
Zing a ting-ting! Zing a ting-ting!
The music made the man start dancing.
He couldn't stop dancing.
Elephant came looking. "Where's that water?" he shouted.
Anansi stopped playing. The man stopped dancing.
"Give me that gourd!" said Elephant. "I'll fill it myself!"
Then Anansi started playing. Elephant dropped the gourd and started dancing.
Anansi played and Elephant danced ... until Elephant dropped dead.
Then Anansi cut off his head and made it into a drinking cup.
~ 98. Anansi and the Gun ~
Anansi borrowed Gun from Hunter.
"Rejoice!" Anansi shouted. "Gun is dead!"
Then Anansi invited all the animals to come to Gun's funeral.
Gun had killed many animals, so this was good news. All the animals were glad that Gun was dead.
Anansi carried Gun up to the top of a ladder. "I will conduct Gun's funeral now!" Anansi said to the animals. "Come line up and bow your heads."
The animals bowed their heads, waiting for the funeral to begin, and then Anansi fired Gun at the animals.
He killed and ate them all.
Beware of Anansi: he's very cunning!
~ 99. Anansi and Blacksnake ~
Anansi and Blacksnake used to be friends.
"Share your food with me," said Anansi.
"I'll share," said Blacksnake. "But you must pay: I'll lash you with my tail later."
Then Anansi prepared a feast. "Who wants a feast?" he shouted.
"I do!" said Goat.
Goat enjoyed Anansi's feast.
Then they heard a knock at the door.
"Answer the door," Anansi told Goat.
Goat answered the door.
It was Blacksnake! His tail lashed out and cut Goat in two.
Then Blacksnake slithered off into the dark, thinking he had killed Anansi.
But Anansi was alive, and he ate Goat for dessert.
~ 100. Anansi and the Skinny Sheep ~
There was a famine.
There wasn't any food to eat, and the animals were getting thinner and thinner.
Anansi met Sheep and said, "You're looking very skinny, Sheep!"
"It's the famine, Anansi," said Sheep. "There's no food to eat."
"I bet you're so light now I could carry you," said Anansi. "Let's see!"
So Sheep got on Anansi's back.
Then Anansi carried Sheep to his house and threw Sheep into the stew pot.
Anansi and his wife ate Sheep.
The same with Goat.
The same with Dog.
That's how Anansi and his wife got food to eat during the famine.