FROM TIGER TO ANANSI

 

Once upon a time, and a long, long time ago, the Tiger was king of the forest. At evening, when all the animals sat together in a circle and talked and laughed together, Snake would ask, “Who is the strongest of us all?”

“Tiger is the strongest,” cried the dog. “When Tiger whispers, the trees listen. When Tiger is angry and cries out, the trees tremble.” “And who is the weakest of all?” asked Snake.

“Anansi,” shouted Dog, and they all laughed together, “Anansi the spider is weakest of all. When he whispers, no one listens. When he shouts, everyone laughs.” Now one day the weakest and the strongest came face to face: Anansi and Tiger.

They met in a clearing of the forest. The frogs hiding under the cool leaves saw them. The bright green parrots in the branches heard them. When they met, Anansi bowed so low that his forehead touched the ground. Tiger did not greet him. Tiger just looked at Anansi.

“Good morning, Tiger,” cried Anansi. “I have a favor to ask.” “And what is it, Anansi?” said Tiger.

“Tiger, we all know that you are strongest of us all. This is why we give your name to many things. We have Tiger Lilies, and Tiger Stories and Tiger Moths, and Tiger this and Tiger that. Everyone knows that I am the weakest of all. This is why nothing bears my name. Tiger, let something be called after the weakest one so that men may know my name, too.”

“Well,” said Tiger, without so much as a glance toward Anansi, “what would you like to bear your name?”

“The stories,” cried Anansi. “The stories that we tell in the forest at evening time when the sun goes down. The stories about Br’er Snake and Br’er Tacumah, B’rer Cow and Br’er Bird, and all of us.”

Now Tiger liked these stories and he meant to keep them as Tiger Stories. He thought to himself, “How stupid, how weak this Anansi is. I will play a trick on him so that all the animals will laugh at him.” Tiger moved his tail slowly from side to side and said, “Very good, Anansi, very good. I will let the stories be named after you if you do what I ask.”

“Tiger, I will do what you ask.”

“Yes, I am sure you will, I am sure you will,” said Tiger, moving his tail slowly from side to side.

“It is a little thing that I ask. Bring me Mr. Snake alive. Do you know Snake who lives down by the river, Anansi? Bring him to me alive and you can have the stories.”

Tiger stopped speaking. He did not move his tail. He looked at Anansi and waited for him to speak. All the animals in the forest waited. Mr. Frog beneath the cool leaves, Mr. Parrot up in the tree, all watched Anansi. They were all ready to laugh at him.

“Tiger, I will do what you ask,” said Anansi. At these words, a great wave of laughter burst from the forest. The frogs and parrots laughed. Tiger laughed loudest of all, for how could feeble Anansi catch Snake alive? Anansi went away. He heard the forest laughing at him from every side. That was on Monday morning. Anansi sat before his house and thought of plan after plan. At last he hit upon one that could not fail. He would build a Calaban.

On Tuesday morning, Anansi built a Calaban. He took a strong vine and made a noose. He hid the vine in the grass. Inside the noose, he set some of the berries that Snake loved best. Then he waited. Soon Snake came up the path. He saw the berries and went toward them. He lay across the vine and ate the berries. Anansi pulled the vine to tighten the noose, but Snake’s body was too heavy. Anansi saw that the Calaban had failed. Wednesday came.

Anansi made a deep hole in the ground. He made the sides slippery with grease. In the bottom he put some of the bananas that Snake loved. Then he hid in the bushes beside the road and waited. Snake came crawling down the path toward the river. He was hungry and thirsty. He saw the bananas at the bottom of the hole. He saw that the sides of the hole were slippery.

First, he wrapped his tail tightly around the trunk of a tree, then he reached down into the hole and ate the bananas. When he was finished, he pulled himself up by his tail and crawled away. Anansi had lost his bananas, and he had lost Snake, too.

Thursday morning came. Anansi made a Fly Up. Inside the trap he put an egg. Snake came down the path. He was happy this morning, so happy that he lifted his head and a third of his long body from the ground. He just lowered his head, took up the egg in his mouth, and never even touched the trap. The Fly Up could not catch Snake. What was Anansi to do?

Friday morning came. He sat and thought all day. It was no use. Now it was Saturday morning. This was the last day. Anansi went for a walk down by the river. He passed by the hole where Snake lived. There was Snake, his body hidden in the hole, his head resting on the ground at the entrance to the hole. It was early morning. Snake was watching the sun rise above the mountains.

“Good morning, Anansi,” said Snake. “Good morning, Snake,” said Anansi. “Anansi, I am very angry with you. You have been trying to catch me all week. You set a Fly Up to catch me. The day before, you made a Slippery Hole for me. The day before that, you made a Calaban. I have a good mind to kill you, Anansi.”

“Ah, you are too clever, Snake,” said Anansi.

“You are much too clever. Yes, what you say is so. I tried to catch you, but I failed. Now I can never prove that you are the longest animal in the world – longer even than the bamboo tree.”

“Of course I am the longest of all animals,” cried Snake. “I am much longer than the bamboo tree.”

“What, longer than that bamboo tree across there?” asked Anansi. “Of course I am,” said Snake.

“Look and see.” Snake came out of the hole and stretched himself out at full length. “Yes, you are very, very long,” said Anansi, “but the bamboo is very long, too. Now that I look at you and at the bamboo tree, I must say that the bamboo tree seems longer. But it’s hard to say, because it is farther away.”

“Well, bring it nearer,” cried Snake. “Cut it down and put it beside me. You will soon see that I am much longer.”

Anansi ran to the bamboo tree and cut it down. He placed it on the ground and cut off all its branches. Bush, bush, bush, bush! There it was, long and straight as a flagstaff.

 “Now put it beside me,” said Snake. Anansi put the long bamboo tree down on the ground beside Snake. Then he said, “Snake, when I go up to see where your head is, you will crawl up. When I go down to see where your tail is, you will crawl down. In that way, you will always seem to be taller than the bamboo tree, which is really longer than you are.”

“Tie my tail, then!” said Snake. “Tie my tail! I know that I am longer than the bamboo, whatever you say.” Anansi tied Snake’s tail to the end of the bamboo. Then he ran up to the other end.

“Stretch, Snake! Stretch, and we will see who is longer.” A crowd of animals were gathering round. Here was something better than a race.

“Stretch, Snake, stretch,” they called. Snake stretched as hard as he could. Anansi tied him around his middle so that he could not slip back. Now one more try. Snake knew that if he stretched hard enough, he would prove to be longer than the bamboo. Anansi ran up to him.

“Rest yourself for a little, Snake, and then stretch again. If you can stretch another six inches, you will be longer than the bamboo. Try your hardest. Stretch so that you even have to shut your eyes. Ready?”

 “Yes,” said Snake. Then Snake made a mighty effort. He stretched so hard that he had to squeeze his eyes shut.

“Hooray!” cried the animals.

“You are winning, Snake. Just two inches more.” And at that moment, Anansi tied Snake’s head to the bamboo.

There he was. At last he had caught Snake, all by himself. The animals fell silent. Yes, there Snake was, all tied up, ready to be taken to Tiger. And feeble Anansi had done this.

They could laugh at him no more. And never again did Tiger dare to call these stories by his own name. They were Anansi Stories forever after, from that day to this.