When the princess was born, the queen kept her name secret.
"Whoever learns the princess's name will marry her!" she said.
Only the queen and her servants knew the name.
"Help me, Dog!" said Anansi, and Dog agreed, so Anansi dressed Dog in smelly, ragged clothes.
Then they went to the royal swimming hole. The royal family was swimming; their clothes were on the bank.
"Grab the princess's dress!" said Anansi.
Dog grabbed the dress and started chewing.
"Stop it, you mangy dog!" yelled the queen. "Stop chewing Princess Basamwe's dress!"
So Anansi learned the name and married Princess Basamwe.
Inspired by: Spiderman Anancy by James Berry
Notes: This story appears on p. 6 of the book: Anancy, Old Witch, and King-Daughter. In Berry's story, though, the marriage does not take place: Anansi plays a trick on Old Witch, and in revenge she wrecks Anansi's marriage plans. In Parsons' version from Trinidad, the king kills the priest who performs the baptism to keep the name from becoming known!
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