"Oh! But what have you got there?" said the Lion.
"Oh! I have got my mother's bones--she has been dead these forty-eleven
years, and they say I must not keep her here, so I am taking her up into
the middle of the mountains to bury her."
Then they parted. After he had gone a little way, the Lion said: "I know
that Ananzi is a great rogue; I dare say he has got something there that
he doesn't want me to see, and I will just follow him;" but he took care
not to let Ananzi see him.
Now, when Ananzi got into the wood, he set his sacks down, and took one
fish out and began to eat; then a fly came, and Ananzi said, "I cannot
eat any more, for there is some one near;" so he tied the sack up, and
went on farther into the mountains, where he set his sacks down, and
took out two fish which he ate; and no fly came. He said, "There is no
one near;" so he took out more fish. But when he had eaten about half a
dozen the Lion came up and said:
"Well, brother Ananzi, a pretty tale you have told me."
"Oh! brother Lion, I am so glad you have come; never mind what tale I
have told you, but come and sit down--it was only my fun."
So Lion sat down and began to eat; but before Ananzi had eaten two fish,
Lion had emptied one of the sacks. Then said Ananzi to himself:
"Greedy fellow, eating up all my fish."
"What do you say, sir?"
"I only said you do not eat half fast enough," for he was afraid the
Lion would eat him up.
Then they went on eating, but Ananzi wanted to revenge himself, and he
said to the Lion, "Which of us do you think is the stronger?"