Anansi and the tar-baby
Tiger got a groun' plant some peas an' get Hanansi to watch it. Me'while Hanansi are de watchman, himself stealin' de peas. Tiger tar a 'tump, put on broad hat on de 'tump. Hanansi come an' say, "Who are you in de groun'?" Him don hear no answer. He hol' him. His han' fasten. He hol' him wid de odder han'. Dat han' fasten. He said, "Aw right! you hol' me two han', I bet you I buck you!" He head fasten. Said, "I bet you, I kick you!" Him two feet fasten. Den he say, "Poor me bwoy! you a watchman an' me a watchman!" So begin to sing, "Mediany dead an' gone." Nex' mawnin' Tiger come an' say, "Why Brar Hanansi, a you been mashin' me up?" Tiger tak him out. Tiger said wha' fe him do wid him now? Hanansi say, "What you fe do? Mak a fire, bu'n me.' Tiger go 'way, mak up him fire, ketch Hanansi go fe t'row him in de fire. Hanansi say, "Brer Tiger, you don' know to burn somebody yet? You mus' jump ober de fire t'ree time, den me a count." Tiger jump one, an' jump again, two, an' jump again, t'ree, an' go fe jump again. Hanansi kick down Tiger into de fire, den go back now go finish off de peas.
Tacoomah is Anansi friend an' neighbor, live very near in one house but different
apartment, so whenever one talk the other can hear. Anansi an' Tacoomah both of
them work groun' together at one place. Anansi don't wait upon his food till it
is ripe, but dig out an' eat it. Tacoomah wait until it fit to eat it. After Anansi
eat off his own, he turn to Tacoomah an' begin to t'ief it. Every morning Tacoomah
go, he find his groun' mashed up. He said, "Brar Nansi, tak care a no you deh mash
up me groun' a nighttime!" Anansi said, "No-o, Brar, but if you t'ink dat a me deh
t'ief a yo' groun' a night-time, you call me t'-night see if me no 'peak to you."
Tacoomah went to his groun' and get some tar an' tar a 'tump an' lef' it in de center
of de groun'. Now night come, Anansi get a gourd, fill it wid water, bore a hole
underneat' de gourd jus' as much as de water can drop tip, tip, tip. He cut a banana-leaf
an' put it underneat' de gourd so de water could drop on it. After dey bot' went
to bed, every now and again Tacoomah called out and Anansi say, "Eh!" Afterward
Anansi say, "Me tired fe say 'eh', me wi' say 'tip'." So Anansi put de gourd of
water up on a stand wid de banana-leaf underneat', so when Tacoomah say, "Anansi?"
de water drop "tip." An' at dis time Anansi gone to de groun'. He saw de black 'tump
which Tacoomah tar an' lef' in de groun'. So Anansi open his right han' an' box
de 'tump. His right han' fasten. He said to de 'tump, "If you no let me go I box
you wid de lef' han'!" He box him wid de lef', so bot' han' fasten now. He say now,
"Den you hol' me two han'? If you not le' me go I kick you!" He then kick the 'tump
an' the right foot fasten first. He kick it with the lef' foot an' the lef' foot
fasten too. He say, "Now you hol' me two han' an' me two foot! I gwine to buck you
if you don' le' go me han' an' foot!" He den buck de 'tump an' his whole body now
fasten on de 'tump. He was deh for some minutes. He see Goat was passing. He said,
"Brar Goat, you come heah see if you kyan't more 'an we t'-day." So Goat come. Anansi
say, "Brar Goat, you buck him!" Goat buck de 'tump; Anansi head come off an' Goat
head fasten. He said, "Brar Goat, you kick him wid you two foot!" An' Goat kick
him an' Anansi two han' come off an' Goat two foot fasten. He said, "Brar Goat,
now you push him!" Goat push him, an' Anansi two foot come off an' Anansi free an'
Goat fasten. So Anansi go back home an' say to Tacoomah, "Me tired fe say 'tip',
now; me wi' say 'eh'."
In de morning, bot' of dem went to groun'. Anansi say, "Brar Tacoomah, look de fellah
deh t'ief yo' groun', dat fe' a Goat!" Goat say, "No, Brar Tacoomah, Anansi lirs'
fasten on de 'tump heah an' he ask me fe buck him off!" Anansi say, "A yaie,[1]
sah!" an' say, "Brar Tacoomah, no me an' you sleep fe de whole night an' ev'ry time
yo' call me, me 'peak to you?" Tacoomah say yes. He say Tacoomah, "Mak we ki' de
fallah Goat!" So dey kill Goat an' carry him home go an' eat him.
Once Mrs. Anansi had a large feed. She planted it with peas. Anansi was so lazy
he would never do any work. He was afraid that they would give him none of the peas,
so he pretended to be sick. After about nine days, he called his wife an' children
an' bid them farewell, tell them that he was about to die, an' he ask them this
last request, that they bury him in the mids' of the peas-walk, but firs' they mus'
make a hole thru the head of the coffin an' also in the grave so that he could watch
the peas for them while he was lying there. An' one thing more, he said, he would
like them to put a pot and a little water there at the head of the grave to scare
the thieves away. So he died and was buried.
All this time he was only pretending to be dead, an' every night at twelve o'clock
he creep out of the grave, pick a bundle of peas, boil it, and after having a good
meal, go back in the grave to rest. Mistress Anansi was surprised to see all her
peas being stolen. She could catch the thief no-how. One day her eldest son said
to her, "Mother, I bet you it's my father stealing those peas!" At that Mrs. Anansi
got into a temper, said, "How could you expect your dead father to rob the peas!"
Said, "Well, mother, I soon prove it to you." He got some tar an' he painted a stump
at the head of the grave an' he put a hat on it.
When Anansi came out to have his feast as usual, he saw this thing standing in the
groun'. He said, "Good-evening, sir!" got no reply. Again he said, "Good-evening,
sir!" an' still no reply. "If you don' speak to me I'll kick you!" He raise his
foot an' kick the stump an' the tar held it there like glue. "Let me go, let me
go, sir, or I'll knock you down with my right hand!" That hand stuck fast all the
same. I'll you don' let me go, I'll hit you with my lef' hand!" That hand stick
fas' all the same. An' he raise his lef' foot an' gave the stump a terrible blow.
That foot stuck. Anansi was suspended in air an' had to remain there till morning.
Anansi was so ashamed that he climb up beneath the rafters an' there he is to this
day.