Tiny Tales: Traditional Stories in 100 Words: AA: Anansi

Showing posts with label AA: Anansi. Show all posts

~ 133. Anansi and the Fire in the King's Palace ~

Laura Gibbs · 133. Anansi and the Fire in the King's Palace

Anansi set fire to the king's palace.

"Who set fire to my palace?" shouted the king. "I'll reward whoever finds the criminal!"

"You need to have a party," Anansi said to the king. "That's how you will find the criminal."

Then Anansi went to see Goat.

"Let's go to the king's party together, Goat!" he said. "I'll play while you sing this song: I set the fire, O, I set the fire, O!"

Goat was happy to go to the party.

Anansi played and Goat sang, "I set the fire, O!"

The king locked Goat in prison and rewarded Anansi.

Inspired by: Suriname Folklore by Melville J. Herskovits and Frances S. Herskovits

Notes: You can read the story Incriminating Song online. The storyteller is Johan Bekker of Paramaribo. The story is told about the king's church, but I changed it to palace.

~ 186. Anansi in Death's Camp ~

Laura Gibbs · 186. Anansi in Death's Camp

Anansi went hunting, but he had caught nothing. He was hungry!

Then he found Death's camp. Death had so much food.

"Please feed me!" said Anansi.

Death fed Anansi, and Anansi ate until he was full.

"Who are you?" Anansi asked.

"Don't you recognize me? I'm Death!"

"Thank you, Death," Anansi said.

Then Anansi went home, but he kept returning to Death's camp to steal food.

When Death saw Anansi stealing, he chased Anansi all the way back to town.

"Watch out, people!" shouted Anansi. "Death is coming!"

And that's how Death came to where people live: it's Anansi's fault.

Inspired by: Suriname Folklore by Melville J. Herskovits and Frances S. Herskovits

Notes: You can read the story Stealing from Death online. The storyteller is Magdalena Bekker from the Saramacca River.

~ 141. Anansi the Angel ~

Laura Gibbs · 141. Anansi the Angel

Anansi wanted the priest's ring, so he dressed up like an angel.

When the priest saw a light in the church that night, he came to investigate.

"I'm an angel!" said Anansi. "I'll take you to heaven. Just get in this sack!"

Anansi then flew around with the sack. "You have an earthly possession that's holding you back," he said.

"It must be my ring," said the priest, and he gave the ring to Anansi.

Then Anansi flew to the chicken-coop and left the priest there.

The priest's housemaid was surprised when she found the priest there in the morning.

Inspired by: Suriname Folklore by Melville J. Herskovits and Frances S. Herskovits

Notes: You can read the story Anansi Disguises as an Angel online. The storyteller is Magdalena Bekker of the Saramacca River.

~ 25. Anansi's Strong Hand ~

Laura Gibbs · 25. Anansi's Strong Hand

Anansi and Tiger wanted to see whose hand was strongest.

Anansi hid a hammer up his sleeve and hit Tiger on the head.

Tiger was surprised. He didn't know Anansi's hand was so strong.

"I'll come hit you tomorrow!" Tiger said.

So Anansi invited Deer to his house. "I'm going to take a nap now," Anansi said, "but Tiger is bringing me good food for dinner! When he knocks, let him in."

Tiger knocked, and Deer opened the door.

Tiger hit him and ran off, thinking he had hit Anansi.

Deer was dead, so Anansi roasted Deer and ate him.

Inspired by: Suriname Folklore by Melville J. Herskovits and Frances S. Herskovits

Notes: You can read the story The Boxing Contest online. The storyteller is Frederik Bekker. In the second part of the story, Anansi hits Tiger again, and then he has Rabbit come stay with him, but Rabbit isn't fooled. Tiger comes and hits Anansi and kills him.

~ 98. Anansi and the Gun ~

Laura Gibbs · 98. Anansi and the Gun

Anansi borrowed Gun from Hunter.

"Rejoice!" Anansi shouted. "Gun is dead!"

Then Anansi invited all the animals to come to Gun's funeral.

Gun had killed many animals, so this was good news. All the animals were glad that Gun was dead.

Anansi carried Gun up to the top of a ladder. "I will conduct Gun's funeral now!" Anansi said to the animals. "Come line up and bow your heads."

The animals bowed their heads, waiting for the funeral to begin, and then Anansi fired Gun at the animals.

He killed and ate them all.

Beware of Anansi: he's very cunning!

Inspired by: Suriname Folklore by Melville J. Herskovits and Frances S. Herskovits

Notes: You can read the story Mock Funeral: Gun is Dead online. The storyteller is Edwin Bundel. In a variation, the Tiger stages Gun's funeral, but Anansi and his family escape.

~ 171. Anansi and the Witch's Sword ~

Laura Gibbs · 171. Anansi and the Witch's Sword

Anansi stole the king's treasure and fled to the witch's house.

"I'll give you lots of treasure to protect me!" said Anansi.

The witch agreed.

The king's soldiers arrived. "We seek Anansi!"

"I'll see if he's inside," said the witch, and she fetched her magical sword.

"Kill!" she said. The sword killed the soldiers.

Then the witch stopped the sword.

When the witch went to town, she gave Anansi the sword. "The soldiers might return," she said.

The soldiers did return, and Anansi said, "Kill!"

The sword killed the soldiers.

But Anansi couldn't stop the sword. It killed Anansi too!

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

Notes: This is story 55. How Nansi Died.

~ 156. Anansi and Dog's New Name ~

Laura Gibbs · 156. Anansi and Dog's New Name

Everybody called Dog "Thieving-Dog," and Dog didn't like it.

Dog asked Anansi for help. "I don't want to be Thieving-Dog. I need a new name!"

Anansi agreed. "I'll give you a name if you'll watch this roast for me. Turn the spit, but don't eat the meat. I'll be back soon."

Dog tried to resist, but the meat smelled so good.

Dog ate the meat!

Anansi came back and laughed. "Okay," he said, "your new name is Same-As-Ever."

Dog was very grateful!

He ran through the village, and some boys shouted. "There's that Thieving-Dog!"

"No!" barked Dog. "I'm Same-As-Ever! Same-As-Ever!"

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

Notes: This is story 39. Dog Changes His Name.

~ 18. Anansi, Tiger, and the Fish ~

Laura Gibbs · 18. Anansi, Tiger, and the Fish

To hide his fish from Tiger, Anansi put them in a coffin.

Tiger saw Anansi with the coffin. "I'll help bury your friend!" he said.

They walked and walked.

Anansi got tired and confessed. "There are fish in the coffin."

"I love fish!" said Tiger. He ate the fish and left the fish-bones in the coffin.

"Now I want dumplings!" said Tiger.

They went to Anansi's house, and Anansi gave the fish-bones to his wife. "Put the fish-bones in the dumplings," he whispered.

Tiger choked on the dumplings.

"I'll help you!" said Anansi, whacking Tiger with a shovel.

Tiger died!

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

Notes: This is story 26. Nansi and the Fried Fish.

~ 164. Anansi and Tiger's Hoe ~

Laura Gibbs · 164. Anansi and Tiger's Hoe

Long ago, farmers dug their fields with pointed sticks.

Nobody had a hoe, except for Tiger.

Tiger had a magical hoe, and it did the digging for him.

Anansi spied on Tiger and saw the hoe. He learned the magic words Tiger used to make the hoe start digging. Then he stole Tiger's hoe to use for himself.

The hoe dug and dug, and Anansi was happy.

But Anansi did not know how to stop the magic hoe.

It kept on digging!

The hoe dug all the land and then disappeared into the sea, and it is digging there still.

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

Notes: This is story 19. The Magic Hoe.

~ 93. Anansi, Agouti and the Fish-Traps ~

Laura Gibbs · 93. Anansi, Agouti and the Fish-Traps

Anansi and Agouti were fishing partners.

They checked their fish-traps: there were many fish, but the fish were small.

"There will be bigger fish tomorrow," said Anansi. "You take these."

"You take them," said Agouti. "I'll take the bigger fish tomorrow."

The next day, there were bigger fish, but only a few.

"There will be more fish tomorrow," said Anansi. "You take these."

"You take them," said Agouti. "I'll take more fish tomorrow."

So it went, day after day: Anansi got all the fish, and Agouti got none because he preferred the fish of tomorrow to the fish of today.

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

Notes: This is story 16. Nansi's Fish Traps. The story starts with Agouti doing all the work to make the traps. In the end, though, Anansi tries to sell the used traps and is ashamed.

~ 197. Anansi and Hunter's Debt ~

Laura Gibbs · 197. Anansi and Hunter's Debt

Hunter had a debt that he could not pay.

Anansi wanted to eat Hunter's guavas, so Hunter said, "Whoever eats my guavas takes my debt!"

Anansi ate Hunter's guavas.

Then Anansi said, "Whoever eats my corn takes my debt."

Guinea-Fowl ate Anansi's corn.

"Whoever breaks my eggs takes my debt," said Guinea-Fowl.

Tree-Branch broke the Guinea-Fowl's eggs. "Whoever plucks my flowers takes my debt."

Monkey plucked the flowers. "Whoever kills me takes my debt."

Then Tiger killed Monkey. "Whoever eats me takes my debt!" roared Tiger.

Hunter killed Tiger, and everybody ate Tiger's meat.

Everybody ended up with Hunter's debt!

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

Notes: This is story 13. How Debt Came to People.

~ 92. Anansi, Snake, and the Rock ~

Laura Gibbs · 92. Anansi, Snake, and the Rock

Snake was trapped under a big rock.

"Save me!" Snake shouted when Anansi walked by.

"No!" said Anansi. "You'll eat me."

"I won't eat you, I promise!" shouted Snake. "I'll be your friend forever!"

Anansi rolled away the rock.

"Now I'm going to eat you!" said Snake.

"That's not fair!" said Anansi.

Agouti walked by. "Be our judge, Agouti!" they said.

"Well," said Agouti, "you better show me what happened."

"I was under this rock," said Snake, and then Anansi rolled the rock back on Snake.

"Leave him!" said Agouti. "He'll have to find some other fool who trusts him."

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

Notes: This is story 6. Nansi and Snake. Before asking Agouti to be their judge, they talk to Donkey, who sides with Snake because the world is unfair; he gets beaten with sticks by ungrateful people all the time. In other versions of this story, Anansi is the judge at the end.

~ 78. Anansi and Dog at the Dance ~

Laura Gibbs · 78. Anansi and Dog at the Dance

"I like your fancy pants, Anansi!" said Dog. "Will you loan them to me for the dance?"

"They're too small for you," said Anansi.

"No, they'll fit!" Dog insisted.

So Dog squeezed himself into Anansi's pants, and then he went to the dance.

Dog was a good dancer, and he liked to throw his legs up high.

But when Dog did that, he tore Anansi's pants! They ripped all the way from top to bottom.

Anansi was mad and took back his pants there at the dance, and everyone laughed at Dog.

Ever since then, Dog doesn't wear any clothes.

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

Notes: This is story 5. Why Dog Wears No Clothes.

~ 131. Anansi the Preacher and Cockroach's Coconut ~

Laura Gibbs · 131. Anansi the Preacher and Cockroach's Coconut

Anansi was the king's preacher, and the king gave him a black suit.

Anansi was proud of his preacher-suit.

Cockroach was Anansi's neighbor, and Cockroach's coconut tree grew near Anansi's house. There was a coconut dangling from a branch hanging over Anansi's land. Anansi took that coconut!

"That was mine!" shouted Cockroach.

"It was on my side!" shouted Anansi.

Cockroach waited till Anansi put his preacher-suit on the clothesline to dry.

When the wind blew it to Cockroach's side, he snipped the suit in half.

Anansi was embarrassed!

He couldn't preach on Sunday, and the king threw him in prison.

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

Notes: This is story 4. Nansi and Cockroach.

~ 134. Anansi and the Watermelon ~

Laura Gibbs · 134. Anansi and the Watermelon

Anansi made a hole in Goat's watermelon and feasted.

Then Anansi was too fat to get out!

Goat came.

"Hello, Goat!" said Anansi from inside the watermelon.

"The king will want this talking watermelon!" said Goat, and he carried the watermelon to the king's palace.

"I brought you a talking watermelon," said Goat.

"Show me!" said the king.

The watermelon said nothing.

"Talk, you stupid watermelon!" shouted the king.

"I'm not stupid!" said Anansi. "You're the one talking to a watermelon."

The king grabbed the watermelon and threw it against the wall.

Out popped Anansi, and he ran away, laughing.

Inspired by: Caribbean Visions in Folktales by Clement B. G. London

Notes: This is story 26: Brer Anansi and the Talking Watermelon. In the original story, Goat meets Sheep and other animals on his way to the king (the "warden"), but I did not have room to include them.

~ 81. Anansi and Dog at the River ~

Laura Gibbs · 81. Anansi and Dog at the River

Anansi, carrying a sack of food, had to cross a river, but he was scared of the alligators.

"Help me, Dog!" shouted Anansi. "I'll give you half my food."

Dog ran down the river and barked so the alligators swam that way.

Then Dog raced back to Anansi and carried him across before the alligators knew what happened.

"Thank you, Dog!" said Anansi.

Then, when Dog wasn't looking, Anansi threw a rock in the river. "Oh no! I dropped my sack!" Anansi yelled.

Dog jumped in. As he splashed around trying to find Anansi's sack, alligators ate him.

Anansi laughed.

Inspired by: Annancy Stories by Pamela Colman Smith

Notes: This is the final episode of How Annancy Went to Fish Country.

~ 83. Anansi, Rabbit, and Horse-Fly ~

Laura Gibbs · 83. Anansi, Rabbit, and Horse-Fly

Anansi visited Godfather Rabbit and Godmother Rabbit.

When Godmother Rabbit went to fetch water, Anansi hit Godfather Rabbit on the head and killed him.

Godmother Rabbit came back and found her husband dead.

"You must bury him, Anansi!" she said.

"I will," said Anansi. "Just give me some lard and a frying pan. Horse-Fly will help me."

Anansi and Horse-Fly took Rabbit into the woods where they cooked him and ate him.

"I'll tell Mrs. Rabbit he was delicious!" said Horse-Fly.

"No, you won't!" shouted Anansi.

Then Anansi cut out Horse-Fly's tongue, which is why Horse-Fly only says bzzz-bzzz-bzzz now.

Inspired by: Annancy Stories by Pamela Colman Smith

Notes: You can read the story online: Annancy and Gingy Fly. The Bantu word for "fly" is ginggi. Here are Smith's illustrations:

~ 86. Anansi Dives for Bananas ~

Laura Gibbs · 86. Anansi Dives for Bananas

Rabbit, Anansi, and Bouki were sailing home. They had some bananas and were arguing about how to divide them.

Anansi threw the bananas into the water. "Whoever brings up the most gets the most!"

Rabbit dived first and brought up four bananas.

Bouki dived next; he brought up two.

Anansi dived... and Anansi just floated.

"Let's try again!" said Anansi, and he threw all the bananas into the water. "Tie the anchor to me this time! And I'll go first!"

They tied the anchor to Anansi and threw him in the water.

Anansi sank and never came back up again.

Inspired by: Bahama Songs and Stories by Charles L. Edwards.

Notes: This is story 3: B'Rabby, B' Spider, an' B' Bouki. The story uses "Spider" as the name instead of Anansi, and it goes on to say that Spider's mother accuses Rabbit and Bouki of murdering her son, but the judge declares it was Spider's own fault. For more about Bouki, who appears in Creole and Haitian folklore, see Folktales of Bouki and Malice.

~ 74. Anansi and the Cats' Wedding ~

Laura Gibbs · 74. Anansi and the Cats' Wedding

Anansi arrived early for the wedding feast of Mister Cat and Miss Cat.

"I'll take care of the food," Anansi said. "Leave it to me!"

But when the bride and groom returned from the wedding, they found the wedding cake was gone, and the wine was all gone too.

"You did this, Dog!" shouted the Cats.

Dog denied it.

Fly went looking for Anansi and found him walking home, his face covered with cake crumbs.

"You're the thief!" shouted Fly.

Anansi swallowed Fly to silence him.

Since then Cat and Dog aren't friends anymore; Fly and Spider are enemies too.

Inspired by: Kathleen Clarke's's story "Compere Cat's Wedding Feast" as reported in The Caribbean Story Finder by Sharon Barcan Elswit.
Notes: This story is 323 in Elswit's index, from Velma Pollard's book, Anansesem. The story also appears in Steele and St. John's Tim Tim Tales from Grenada, which is the book I consulted.