|| An African folktale ||
Anansi and Sin—his son—were both very clever farmers. Their farms were next to each other. Generally they succeeded in getting fine harvests from each of their farms.
One year, however, they were very unfortunate. They had sown their seeds as usual, but no rain had fallen for more than a month after and it looked as if the seeds would be unable to sprout.
Sin was walking sadly through his fields one day looking at the bare, dry ground. He wondered what he and his family would do for food, if they were unable to get any harvest. To his surprise he saw a tiny dwarf seated by the roadside.
The little hunchback asked the reason of his sadness, and Sin told him. The dwarf promised to help him by bringing rain on the farm. He asked Sin fetch two small sticks and tap him lightly on the hump, while he sang
“O water, go up, O water, go up,
And let rain fall, and let rain fall.”
To Sin’s great joy, rain immediately began to fall and continued till the ground was thoroughly well soaked. In the days following, the seeds germinated, and the crops began to sprout well.
Anansi soon heard how well Sin’s crops were growing—whilst his own were still bare and hard. He went straightway to his son and demanded to know the reason. Sin, being an honest fellow, at once told him what had happened.
Anansi quickly made up his mind to get his farm watered in the same way, and accordingly set out toward it.
As he went, he cut two big, strong sticks from a tree, thinking, “My son made the dwarf work with little sticks. I will make him do twice as much with my big ones.” He hid the big sticks behind him and went to the dwarf.
As before, the helpful dwarf asked what the trouble was, and Anansi told him about his dry field. “Take two small sticks, and beat me lightly on the hump,” said the dwarf. “I will get rain for you.”
But Anansi took his big sticks and beat so hard that the tiny dwarf fell down dead.
The greedy fellow was now thoroughly frightened. He knew that the dwarf was a jester in the king’s court and a very great favourite of the king. He wondered how he could fix the blame on some one else.
He picked up the dwarf’s dead body and carried it to a kola-tree. There he laid it on one of the top branches and sat down under the tree to watch.
After a while his son Sin came along to see if his father had succeeded in getting rain for his crops. “Did you not see the dwarf, father?” he asked, as he saw the old man sitting alone.
“Oh, yes!” replied Anansi; “but he has climbed this tree to pick kola. I am now waiting for him down. I am too old to climb myself now”
“I will go up and fetch him,” volunteered the young man—and immediately began to climb. As soon as his head touched the body, the dwarf’s body fell to the ground.
“Oh! what have you done, you wicked fellow?” cried his father. “You have killed the King’s jester!”
Sin was shocked for few seconds and then realized that his father had tricked him. Then he exclaimed, “I cannot believe my luck!”
“What do you mean?”, asked Anansi.
“The King is very angry with the dwarf, and has promised a bag of money to any one who would kill him. I will now go and get the reward.”, said Sin.
“No! No! No!” shouted Anansi immediately. “The reward is mine. I killed him with two big sticks. I will take him to the King.”
“Fine, it is only fair!” was the son’s reply. “As you killed him, you may take him.”
Off set Anansi, quite pleased with the prospect of getting a reward.
He reached the King’s court, only to find the King furious at the death of his favourite jester. The body of the jester was shut up in a great box and Anansi was condemned to carry it on his head for ever as a punishment. The box was enchanted that it could never be put down, only transferred from one shoulder to another shoulder. But who would volunteer to carry a box forever?
Anansi begged and pleaded with the king, but no avail. Even his son Sin did not help him this time. Anansi’s greed and wickedness cost him everything.
It is said that Anansi carried the box for many years before he begged and pleaded the King of Ants for help. The ants and their leader, who were sincere and hard-working, took pity on the old man. He was by now bent with age and the weight of the box.
Anansi promised that he would rest his shoulders and take the box back again, but the cunning old man never came back. This story is told in certain African cultures as the reason why we see ants always carrying something and moving busily. (Fun fact: Ants can carry 50 times their body weight).
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