Anansi, Snake, and the Yams

Anansi took some yams to Snake. "Half for you!" he said. "Half for me."

Snake then asked Anansi to spend the night.

In the dark, Anansi took his yams and buried them.

In the morning he yelled, "Who stole my yams?"

No one knew.

"This knife will tell me! The thief will bleed," said Anansi.

The animals came to be tested: Tapir, Agouti, Rabbit, Crane.

Anansi used the dull side: nobody bled.

Then Snake.

Anansi used the sharp side. Snake bled!

"I'm innocent!" protested Snake. "No yams in my stomach!"

Snake died.

Even now when Snakes die, they turn belly-up.

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Inspired by: The Magic Pot: Nansi Stories from the Caribbean by Odeen Ishmael

Notes: This is story 12. The Knife Test. In the original story, Anansi wants to kill Snake because Snake loaned him money, and Anansi could not pay him back. He took the yams as a gift when he requested an extension on the loan.