Reading Notes: Anansi Stories

I'm labeling these Anansi-in-standard-English stories with their own label: Anansi.


Eating Tiger's Guts

Brer Tiger and Brer Anansi went to the riverside.

Brer Anansi said, "Brer Tiger, take out your insides and wash them out."

Brer Tiger did just that.

"Now, Brer Tiger, dip your head in the water and wash it good."

The moment Brer Tiger put his head in the water, Anansi took Tiger's insides and ran off with it to give to his wife Tacoomah to boil.

The next morning Anansi heard that Tiger was dead. He called all the children to know how they were going to cry at the funeral. Each one came and said, "I'm going to cry: Father Tiger dead!"

The last child Anansi called said, "I'm going to cry what daddy did last night when he came home and gave Ma Tacoomah something to boil: Father Tiger's guts."

"Oh, no!" said Anansi. "Child, you can't go." So they locked up that child.

Someone heard the child crying and ask him what was wrong. "I want to go to Father Tiger's funeral!" He let the child out to go to the funeral.

When Anansi saw him coming, he ran away and got up on top of the house and he has never come down since then.

Monkey and Anansi

Anansi and Monkey were travelling; they were two good friends together.

Anansi asked Monkey, "Brer Monkey, how many tricks do you have?"

Monkey said, "Brer Anansi, I've got lots and lots of tricks."

Anansi said, "Brer Monkey, I've got one and half tricks. I'll keep the one trick for myself and I'll give you the half trick, my friend."

They traveled on and on until they saw Tiger in a deep hole.

Anansi said, "Brer Monkey, you have plenty of tricks and a long tail; send your tail down into the hole and help Brer Tiger!" While Monkey sent down his tail, Anansi climbed a tree.

Tiger came out of the hole and grabbed Monkey. He said, "I'm going to eat you today!" Anansi was up in the tree laughing.

Monkey was in trouble now and he didn't know how to get away.

So Anansi called out to Tiger, "Brer Tiger, did you catch Monkey and are you going to eat him?"

Tiger said, "Yes, I'm going to eat him."

Anansi said, "Do what I'm doing: open your hands and clap with joy, saying 'I got Monkey!'"

And when Tiger opened his hands, Monkey got free. Tiger ran after Monkey, and Anansi got down from the tree and went home.

Sheep and Anansi

Mr. Anansi and Mr. Sheep were out walking through the countryside. They were carrying two spoons: Sheep carried one spoon, and Anansi carried one spoon. [They ate breakfast at a house.]

Anansi told Sheep, "Mr. Sheep, leave your spoon here; you don't have to carry it."

Then they went to another house to get breakfast again. After they got the breakfast, Anansi said, "Mr. Sheep, where's your spoon?"

And he said, "Didn't you tell me to leave it at the first house?"

"You have to go back for it now!"

Mr. Sheep went to get the spoon, and Anansi ate all the breakfast.

Anansi said, "Let's go, Mr. Sheep, but you better leave your spoon."

[Sheep agreed.] "I'm not going to carry that spoon."

And then they went to the next yard to get some dinner now. Night was coming. Anansi said, "Mr. Sheep, where is your spoon?"

And Sheep said, "I left it at the last yard where you ate."

Well, then Sheep had to go back to get his spoon again; Anansi told Sheep to come back again with his spoon, and he ate all the dinner. Sheep didn't get anything to eat.

(sheep)

Rabbit and Anansi

Brar Anansi and Brar Rabbit went for a walk one day. Brar Rabbit asked Brar Anansi to show him "daytime trouble."

And while they were going along, Brar Anansi saw Tiger's den with a lot of young Tigers in it. Brar Anansi took one out and killed it and gave Rabbit a basket with a piece of the Tiger's meat to carry to the Tiger's father, and he took Rabbit along with him to Tiger's house and told Brar Rabbit to hand Tiger the basket.

Anansi ran off, and Tiger reached for Rabbit to kill him, but he got away.

Brar Anansi ran up a tree and said, "Run, Brar Rabbit, run! Run for the stone-hole!"

Anansi took a razor and gave it to Rabbit. And Tiger got up a lot of men to get Rabbit out of the hole and Tiger sent for Reindeer to dig him out, as he had a long neck so he could put down his head in the hole and dig him out, but Anansi told Rabbit when Reindeer put down his head in the hole, he should take the razor and cut it off.

A lot of people gathered around to see Reindeer take Rabbit out of the hole, but instead, Reindeer's head was cut off and he fell down dead, and the whole crowd ran away terrified.

After Rabbit came out, Brar Anansi said to him, "Brar Rabbit, that's what "daytime trouble" means. So, as long as you live, never ask anybody to show it to you again!"