One day Anansi and Cockroach made a bargain to work all day together weeding the vegetable garden.
But when Cockroach knocked at the door, Anansi groaned, "I'm too sick to go, Cockroach. I've got a fever!"
Then, after Cockroach was gone, Anansi started to sing: "Garden too far, too hot, rikity-tikity-tot. Garden too hot, too far, rikity-tikity-rar."
Cockroach stopped when he heard Anansi singing and shouted, "You can't fool me, Anansi!"
Anansi shouted back, "No, it's the fever, Cockroach, I swear!"
And while Cockroach was shouting, Cat heard him.
Then Cat came and ate Cockroach.
Nobody weeded the vegetable garden.
Inspired by: Jamaica Anansi Stories by Martha Warren Beckwith
Notes: This is story 57 in the book. Beckwith heard this story from George Barrett; additional information in Beckwith's notes. I added the part at the end about the cat eating the cockroach from another cockroach story variation that Beckwith collected.
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