Anansi went walking.
He smelled yams cooking. Anansi wanted yams!
"Tie this string around my waist," Anansi said to the cook. "Then tug when the yams are ready."
Anansi kept walking.
Next, Anansi smelled beans cooking. Anansi wanted beans!
"Tie this string around my waist," Anansi said, "and tug when the beans are ready."
Then Anansi smelled greens. Another string around his waist.
Stew. Another string around his waist.
Finally the yam-cook pulled the string.
The bean-cook pulled too!
And the greens-cook. And the stew-cook.
All the strings pulled tight around Anansi's waist. That's why his waist is narrow today!
Inspired by: African-American Folktales for Young Readers by Richard and Judy Dockrey Young. The story is told by Len Cabral.
Notes: This story appears on p. 78 of the book: Why Anansi Has a Narrow Waist. In Cabral's version, Anansi has eight strings pulling!
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