Reading Notes: Anansi Stories

Here are some more Anansi stories written out in more standard English.

Tiger Catching the Sheep-Thief

One day there was an old lady name Miss Madder, and she had twenty sheep.

Mr. Anansi went and gave her a hen, and after a couple weeks, Mr. Anansi went back to get the hen.

And she said, "Didn't you give me the hen, Mr. Anansi?"

And he said, "Oh no, Miss! My hen would have laid an egg, and another egg, and so on, and a chicken and another chicken, and so on."

And she said, "The only thing that I can do, Mr. Anansi, is for you to go to the sheep-pen and take a sheep."

So this happened over and over again till Mr. Anansi had taken nineteen of the sheep, and only one was left.

Tiger said, "Miss Madder, I'll kill the sheep, take half for myself, and I'll catch Mr. Anansi."

Tiger killed the sheep, and he put the skin on. When Mr. Anansi came, Tiger bawled like a sheep, "Ba-a-a-a!"

Miss Madder said, "All right, Mr. Anansi, I don't want to hear any more of your talking; take the last sheep and go."

Anansi said, "Thank you, Miss Madder! I won't come and worry you any more about my chickens."

When he went away, as he was going along he said, "Hey! This sheep sure is heavy."

He went home and his wife and children sat down around him with a bowl and a knife. Mr. Anansi took the knife and cut the throat of the sheep, and he said, "Lord! Wife, this fellow is fat but he doesn't have any blood."

When he cut the belly open, Tiger jumped out and and grabbed him.

Mr. Anansi said, "Hey! Hey! Brar Tiger, what are you doing?"

Tiger said, "Miss Madder had twenty sheep and if I don't tie you, she'll say that you and I both ate the sheep."

Anansi said, "If they take the big banana leaves and tie me, I'll be glad, but if they were to take that little bit of banana thread and tie me, I would be so sad about that."

And so they tied him with just the small bit of banana thread and threw him into the sea, and he just untied his leg and went running under the water. And from that time you can see Anansi running under the water.

Tiger's Breakfast

Anansi went to Tiger's house one day and ate breakfast. He did that every day. 

He told Tiger, "Brar Tiger, tomorrow you must come to my house, but when you hear me making noise that's when you have to come because that's when breakfast is on. But when you hear me stay still, you mustn't come."

So when Brer Tiger came, Anansi was done eating. And Anansi said, "Brar Tiger, you just missed it."

Tiger said, "No! I didn't hear you make noise."

Anansi said, "No! What I said was when a man is making noise, no more eating." Then he said, "Well, come back tomorrow."

When Tiger came, Anansi felt ashamed and gave him a little breakfast, but he said, "Brar Tiger, when we get ready to eat, and I say, 'Eat, eat, eat," you have to say, 'I don't want to eat.'"

So Anansi stayed there and ate everything, and Tiger never got anything.

Tiger decided to get his revenge.

The next day Anansi went to Tiger's yard. When Tiger got his breakfast and gave him enough meat, Anansi said to Tiger, "Brar Tiger, where do you get meat every day like this?"

Tiger said, "You know how I come by this meat? When I see a cow lie down, I go up and run my hand inside of the cow and grab hold of the tripe, so I never run out of meat."

So Anansi went his way and did the same. The cow was frightened, and went heading from the hillside right down to the lowland.

Anansi said, "Let go, Brar Cow! I got my hand inside you!"

The cow had got hold of his hand even tigether and galloped right down the hill and dragged Anansi over the stones.

That's the reason that you see Anansi has a white belly.

(white-bellied spider)

Tiger's Bone-Hole

Tiger had a bit pot of meat, and he boiled it, and he set it out on the ground. And he had a bone-hold; when he ate the meat, he threw the bone into the hole.

And Anansi took his wife and his three children and he said the five of them were going to the house to get the pot and eat the meat. 

And after they heard Tiger was coming, Anansi and his wife and his three children, all five of them went into the hole.

And Tiger came and said, "Not a creature would eat this meat but Brar Anansi!"

And Tiger started to eat the meat, and the first bone he threw into the hole hit one of the children.

And when he was about to scream, Anansi said, "Shut your mouth, mister, and don't cry."

And Tiger ate some more, threw another bone, and hit another of the children.

And when he went to cry, Anansi said, "Shut your mother, mister!"

And Tiger ate some more, threw another bone, and he hit the other child; that made three.

Anansi told him he mustn't cry.

And Tiger ate some more and threw another bone in the hole, and it hit the mother.

And when she was going to cry, Anansi said, "Shut your mother!"

And the last bone he threw and hit Anansi in the head. Anansi said, "Now let's all shout here in the hole!"

So they all shout, "Yee! Yee-e-e!" from in the hole, and when they shout, Tiger got frightened and ran out and left the house, and Anansi and his wife and children came out and took all the meat away and ran him out of his house on account of the bone-hole.

Jack man dora!

Eggs and Scorpions

Firefly and Anansi were going through the woods. They were going through the woods to look for an egg, a bird egg. 

And Ananti told Firefly that when a little bird said, "Who wants a little egg?" Firefly should say that he wanted a little egg. And when the big bird said, "Who wants a big egg?" Anansi would say, "I want a big egg.

And in the night when Anansi got all the big eggs, Firefly got angry and left Anansi in the bush and he flew away with his light.

And Anansi came to Tiger's house in the night. Tiger had a sheep in his yard.

Anansi said, "Brar Tiger, if you give me dinner to eat tonight, I'll give you all the eggs."

And Tiger said yes, and he went to go to the sheep and said, "Lay it out, lay it out, sheep!" He laid out some roast fowl, some roast duck, and all sorts of things. Anansi started eating.

After he had eaten, Anansi said he wanted to sleep in Tiger's house.

Tiger put scorpions around the eggs. When Anansi put his hand in to take the egg,  a scorpion bit him. And Anansi shouted, "Aye-e-e!"

Tiger said, "Brar Anansi, what happened to you?"

And Anansi said, "My three little children and my wife made me shout."

Then, when Tiger went to bed, Anansi stole away the sheep.

The Christening

Anansi and Tiger both of them found a keg of butter. Anansi said to TIger, "Let's hide it in the bushes."

Some days later, Anansi said to Tiger, "I got an invitation to a christening." When he came back, Tiger asked him the name of the child. Anansi said his name is "Top-Take-Off."

Another week rolled around. Anansi said he got another invitation to a christening. After Anansi came back, Tiger asked him what the name of the child was again. Anansi said, "Grab-the-Middle."

And the last week Anansi went to another christening. Tiger asked him when he came back what the child's name was. Anansi said, "Lick-Clean."

Then he said, "Tiger, let's go check on our keg of butter."

He carried Tiger, walking all over the place until he got tired, and when he had nearly reached the place where they had hid the butter, he said, "Tiger, we're tired. Let's take a nap."

And after Tiger was asleep, Anansi went to the keg, and he took a bit of a stick and he scraped as much as he could from the keg, and he wiped a little bit on Tiger's mouth and he wiped a little bit on his tail.

Then Anansi climed a tall tree and he started shouting real loud that Tiger at the butter and butter was melting out of him.