Tying Tiger
Brer Tiger has a mango-tree where he lives. Brer Anansi goes and asks Brer Tiger if he could sell him a half-penny's worth of mango. Brer Tiger says no.
Brer Anansi really wants the mango. He tells Brer Tiger, "They've passed a law that every man who has a tree has to tie himself to his tree because there's a big storm coming."
Brer Tiger says, "Well, you better tie me to the mango tree."
After Brer Anansi ties Tiger to the tree, he climbs up in the mango tree, and starts eating the mangos: when he finishes a mango, he takes the pit and hits Brer Tiger in the hand with it.
When Brer Anansi is done eating, he shakes all the ripe mangos down from the tree, picks them up, and goes away, leaving Brer Tiger tied to the mango tree.
Brer Tiger sees Brer Butterfly fly by and he asks Brer Butterfly to untie him from the tree. Brer Buttferly says that he can't stop.
Brer Tiger sees Brer Ant passing by, and he asks Brer Ant to untie him from the tree; Brer Ant says he can't stop because he's in a hurry.
Brer Tiger sees Brer Tree-Ant passing by and asks him to untie him. Brer Tree-Ant doesn't know whether he will untie him because he's not sure if Brer Tiger will put up with Brer-Ant being so slow because Brer-Ant is very slow.
After Brer Tree-Ant finally gets him untied, Brer Tiger thanks him again and again, and he tells Brer Tree-Ant that if any of Brer Ant's friends come by, they should be sure to stop in and say "Howdy-do."
Brer Anansi is up in a cottonwood tree listening while they are talking. The next evening, Brer Anansi goes to Brer Tiger's yard and knocks at the door.
Brer Tiger says, "Who's there?
Brer Anansi says, "Mr. Tree-Ant's brother."
And Brer Tiger invites him in and makes a big fuss, serving tea because this is Mr. Tree-Ant's brother. After that he goes to bed.
In the morning, Brer Tiger prepares tea for Mr. Tree-Ant before he wakes up, and when he wakes up and is washing his face, he has to take off his hat. Now Brer Anansi is a man with a bald head, and Brer Tiger realizes it is Brer Anansi, so he chases him out of the house.
The Gub-Gub Peas / Goobers, Peanuts
A man plants a big field of peanuts. He gets a watchman to guard the field. The watchman can't read.
The peanut plants are growing really well, and the peants are looking really good; everybody who goes by the field falls in love with the peanuts.
Anansi himself passes by and wants to have some peanuts. He begs the watchman to give him some peanuts, but the watchman refuses to give him any. Anansi goes and picks up an old envelope. He gives it to the watchman and says that the master told him to deliver it.
The watchman says, "The master knows that I can't read. So why does he send you to give this thing to me?"
Anansi says, "I will read it for you. Listen to what it says: The master says you must tie Mr. Anansi where the peanuts are the thickest. Then, when he has eaten his fill, you must let him go."
The watchman does so; when Anansi has eaten his fill, he calls the watchman, and the watchman lets him go.
After Anansi leaves, the master of the peanut field comes and asks the watchman what happened to the peanuts. The watchman tells him.
The masters says that he did not meet anybody, and nobody came to him, and he did send any letter. So if a man does come to the watchman like that again, he must tie him in the peanuts and keep him there until the master comes back.
The next day, Anansi comes back with the same letter and says, "The master told me to give you this." Anansi reads the same letter to the watchman, and the watchman ties Anansi in the peanuts.
And when Anansi had eaten his fill, he calls to the watchman to let him go, but the watchman refuses. Anansi calls out a second time. "Come here and let me go!"
The watchman says, "No, you aren't going anywhere."
Anansi says, "If you don't let me go, I'll spit on the ground and you'll be cursed!"
The watchman is scared and unties him.
A few minutes after that the master comes and tells the watchman that if the man comes back one more time, he is to keep him there no matter what.
The next day, Anansi comes back with the same letter and reads the same story to the man. The man ties him up in the peanuts and, after Anansi eats his fill, he calls to the watchman to let him go, but the man refuses. All he says is that he is not going to untie him until the master arrives.
The master takes Anansi and carries him back to his yard and ties him up to a tree. Then he takes a big iron and puts it in the fire to get hot.
Now while the iron is getting hot, Anansi is crying.
Lion happens to go by and sees Anansi tied up underneath the tree, so he asks him how he got tied up there.
Anansi tells Lion that he's never held a knife and fork since the day he was born, and now people are wanting him to hold a knife and fork.
Lion says to Anansi, "You are so pathetic! I can hold a knife and fork. I will untie you, and then you can tie me there."
So Lion unties Anansi, and Anansi ties Lion to the tree. Then Anansi goes away, far into the jungle, and he climbs up on a tree to see what happens next.
When the master comes out, instead of seeing Anansi, he sees Lion. He takes the hot iron out of the fire and shoves it in Lion's ear. Lion plunges down and snaps the rope and gallops away into the jungle, and he's standing right there underneath the same tree where Anansi is.
Anansi gets scared and starts to tremble, and when he shakes the tree, Lion lifts up his head and sees Anansi. He tells Anansi to come down.
Anansi shouts to the people, "Here's the man you're looking for! Here's the man underneath the tree!"
And so the Lion runs away and lives out in the jungle now, and Anansi is free.
Tiger as Riding-Horse
Tiger is walking by a house and sees two young ladies, and he decides to court one of the young ladies.
And as soon as Anansi hears about this, he goes to the house where the young ladies are and they ask him, "Mr. Anansi, do you know Mr. Tiger?"
And Anansi says, "Oh yes! I know Mr. Tiger, but I have to tell you, lady, that Tiger is my father's old riding horse."
And when Tiger comes to see the ladies, they tell him what Anansi said. And he says he's going to go find Anansi and make him come and say to his own face that he is Anansi's father's old riding horse.
And when he comes and tell Anansi, "I want you to come and prove this thing that you said in front of the ladies," Anansi says, "I never said any such thing! But I'm not able to walk anywhere at the moment."
Tiger says, "If I have to carry you on my back, that's what I'll do."
Anansi says, "Okay, I'll go with you."
Anansi goes and gets his saddle. Tiger says, "What are you going to do with that saddle?"
Anansi says, "I need to put my food in the stirrup so that if I start to fall off, being weak and all, I can hold myself up."
Anansi gets his bridle too.
Tiger says, "What are you going to do with that?"
Anansi says, "I'm going to put it in your mother so that when I start to fall down, I can pull myself up."
Tiger says, "I don't care what you do; go ahead and put it on."
And Anansi goes and gets his horse-whip.
And Tiger says, "What are you going to do with that horsewhip?"
Anansi says, "When the flies come, it can be my flyswatter."
And Anansi put on two pair of spurs.
And Tiger says, "What are you going to do with those spurs?"
Anansi says, "If I don't wear the spurs, my foot will cramp."
And they come up to the house, and Anansi uses the spurs on Tiger and the horsewhip, and he makes him gallop around the yard. And he says, "Carry me into the stable, sir! I'll make you know that what Anansi says is the actual truth: Tiger is my father's old riding-horse."
Tiger runs off into the wods, and Anansi sings after him, "Poor Tiger is dead and gone!"
Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na bom,
Everybody
Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na bom,
Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na.
Poor Tiger, dead and gone.
Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na,
Everybody go look for a wife,
Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na,
Everybody go look for a wife,
Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na, Si-lay-na bom.
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