West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917).
How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"
Spider wanted the stories named after him, and Nyankupon agreed to do so if he performed 3 tasks: brought back a jar full of bees, brought a boa constrictor, and captured a tiger. Spider was able to trick his way into completing these three tasks, impressing Nyankupon. As he said, he agreed to allow all of the old stories to be named after Spider.
How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race
Anansi dreamed of keeping all of the world's knowledge to himself. He placed it into a sealed jar that no human could ever open. His son, Kweku Tsin, was curious as to what his father was doing, so he followed him, finding him attempting to hide it in a tree, but was unable to climb it. When Kweku Tsin asks why he doesn't carry it a different way, Anansi becomes angry that his son has knowledge he did not possess, and throws the jar down, causing it to break and all the knowledge dispersing throughout the world.
Anansi and Nothing
Anansi travels with his friend Nothing, who is much wealthier than Anansi. They trade clothes, so that Anansi looks wealthy, and nothing looks poor. Anansi gains many wives, while Nothing is spat on and treated horribly, but eventually has a wife. When they return home, however, Anansi's wives are appalled at his lack of wealth. Nothing's wife invites them over for dinner, and they all decide to stay instead of return to Anansi's home. This angers Anansi, who creates a trap that kills Nothing. Nothing's wife is so distraught she gives mashed yams to all the children in the district so they may cry for Nothing for her.
Thunder and Anansi
Anansi's land suffers from a famine. He sees an island, and uses an old boat he finds to try and reach it. On his seventh attempt, he finally reaches the island, but is unable to collect any of the coconuts from the island's lone palm tree; all of them fell into the ocean. Sad, he threw himself into the water, but did not drown, instead finding himself at a sympathetic Thunder's door. He received a pot that never ran out of food, but he did not share it with his family. His son, who can change shapes, became a fly and discovered Anansi's secret, stealing the pot. They tried to share it with the town, but it melted from the heat. Anansi found out and traveled back to the island so that he could find Thunder again. Telling the same story, Anansi received a stick instead of a pot, which beat him endlessly until he let the stick go, letting it and the boat float away.
Why the Lizard Moves His Head Up and Down
Anansi wished to marry the king's daughters, and the only way to do so was to learn their names. He does this by hiding in their bathing place, dropping fruit above them so that they call for each other. When he goes to the king, he has Lizard name them first, so that Lizard has them instead of Anansi. Anansi becomes angry, and frames Lizard for murdering the king's rooster, and rendering him unable to speak, only moving his head up and down. The king punishes Lizard by taking his daughters back and giving them to Anansi.
Tit for Tat
During a famine, Kweku discovers a clearing with an abundance of animals, and is afraid his father will kill them all if he knows about it. However, Anansi tricks Kweku into revealing the location. Knowing his father's plan, Kweku takes an image, and when Anansi is heading home, uses it to force Anansi to drop all of the meat he gathers. He does this until Anansi has killed all the animals, and been forced to drop all of it, which Kweku sold for money. When the famine is over, Kweku tells the entire village of his adventure, embarrassing Anansi and causing him to swear to stop his tricks.
Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property
During a famine, Spider finds a dead antelope, which he plans to take home, hiding the body in a mat. Leopard and Wolf believe Spider is lying, and make him drop the dead antelope, which they take. Spider is furious, and with the help of a lizard, manages to trap the leopard and wolf, take the antelope back, and enjoy his meal with all the others. An ant comes by, and frees the wolf and leopard, who want to repay him. Spider hears this, and disguises his family and himself as the ant, taking the repayment. When the real ant and his family come by, all but the father is killed, as they think that it is Spider, which angers the ant, who vows not to help anyone, and simply be a pest to man.
Jumping Spider
The Squirrel and the Spider
Squirrel is a farmer, whose farm has no roads to it, since he uses the trees. Spider discovers this, and creates a road with his family, and claims the farm as his own when he is caught stealing the harvest. Squirrel appeals to the law, who sides with Spider, as they had never seen a farm with no road. Spider's family steals the last of the corn, and goes to sell it, but is caught in a storm that night. The next day, they find it being sheltered by a crow, who takes the corn, saying he's never seen corn left on the side of the road, and that it is his, doing to Spider what he had done to Squirrel.
Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles As Big As Themselves
Anansi and Kweku Tsin are farmers, and their crops have not received any rain recently like normal. Tsin finds a dwarf who, magically, was able to make it rain on his fields by tapping him with small sticks. Anansi tries the same thing, but uses two large sticks, killing the dwarf. He tries to frame Tsin, as it was one of the king's jesters, but Tsin tricks Anansi into admitting to the murder, and must carry the box with the dwarf's body on his head forever, unless someone else agrees to carry it. He convinces an ant to carry it on the premise he would come back, but he never does.
Why Spiders are Always Found in Corners of Ceilings
Anansi and his family had a very abundant harvest, much more than they had ever seen. Anansi, being the selfish person he is, plotted to keep it all for himself, sending his wife and son away under the guise of business. His son goes to the field a few weeks later, and finds more than half the harvest gone. With the help of the townspeople, they fashion a rubber scarecrow, who Anansi tries to fight, but becomes stuck to overnight. When everyone arrives and sees him there, he transforms into a spider, and goes to hide in the corner.
The Grinding-Stone That Ground Flour By Itself
During a famine, the only person who seemed to be doing well as Anansi's cousin, which angered Anansi. His cousin Kofi's secret was a stone that ground flour on its own, next to a river of honey. Anansi begged Kofi to take him there, trying to trick him to do so, but Kofi did not bite. Anansi then used an ash trail to track Kofi, and took the stone when he found it, angering the stone. Anansi sold the flour from the stone, becoming very wealthy, but the stone stuck to his head when he tried to rid himself of it, and it slowly ground Anansi down into tiny pieces.
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