"Bring my timber from the woods!" commanded the king.
Nobody could move the timber except one old man.
He had a magic spell that made the timber leap.
Mile by mile by mile, the old man made the timber leap.
Finally the timber landed in the palace.
Anansi ran there first. "I brought the timber!" he shouted.
"Put the timber there in the corner," said the king.
Anansi couldn't move the timber.
The old man came and used his magic to move the timber.
To escape the angry king, Anansi hid under a rock, and he's still hiding there now.
Inspired by: Jamaica Anansi Stories by Martha Warren Beckwith
Notes: This is story 97 in the book. Beckwith heard this story from Emanuel Johnson; additional information in Beckwith's notes. The man is named Old Conch, and he sings a long song that repeats again and again in the story:
Follow long road, timber, follow!
Follow long road, timber, follow!
Follow long road, timber, follow!
Leap, timber, leap! leap, timber, leap!"
Leap, me timber, leap! leap, timber, leap!"
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