a. The Escape from Tiger.
Richard Morgan, Santa Cruz Mountains.
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?” [16] 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.
b. The Substitute.
George Parkes, Mandeville.
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 night-time!” 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 firs’ fasten on de ’tump heah an’ he ask me fe
buck him off!” Anansi say, “A yaie, [17] 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.
c. The Grave.
Stanley Jones, Claremont, St. Ann.
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.
“If 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.