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!
Inspired by: Jamaica Anansi Stories by Martha Warren Beckwith
Notes: This is story 40 in the book. Beckwith heard this story from Elizabeth Hilton; additional information in Beckwith's notes. This story is about "assono" which Beckwith calls a "large animal, unidentified" but Cassidy and Page's Dictionary of Jamaican English identifies "assono" as "asunu," the elephant; compare the Twi word, asono, meaning elephant. This character shows up in Anansi stories, and the word is also used as a term of abuse for someone who is big and clumsy.
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