Gather round,
Gather round.
I feel something coming through.
Gather round,
Gather round.
I got a story for you.
Back in the days of the golden sun,
Before time was time,
When the world was still being woven,
There lived a being called Anansi.
Anansi was a spider,
But not a spider like you or I know,
Because Anansi was a spider that could also be a human.
Anansi was a trickster,
So some days Anansi was a he and some days a she,
And some days Anansi was a wonderful shimmering everything.
No matter which form Anansi chose,
They could be recognized by their long,
Clever limbs and eyes that shine,
Shine,
Shine with a thousand ideas.
Even though Anansi was the trickiest of the tricksters,
Everyone simply called them Anansi.
Wherever Anansi went,
They wore a magical mkoba,
A backpack.
It is said this magical mkoba was woven from a mixture of light from Mau,
The moon,
Combined with spider silk.
Whatever Anansi placed inside this mkoba,
Be it a story,
A song,
Even the roar of a leopard,
Whatever was placed inside would become double.
As a result of the mkoba's doubling of things,
Anansi would have one thing to keep and one thing to share.
Well,
Usually it was one thing to keep and one thing to trade for something even better.
With every trade,
Anansi would smile that trickster smile.
One morning,
A morning that seemed to be brighter than any other,
Anansi decided they wanted to own all the tricks in the world.
Anansi wondered,
Why should the eagle have the sharpest sight?
Why should the tortoise have such clever,
Clever proverbs?
I will trickety trick them and their talents will be mine.
The very thought of this trickery made Anansi chuckle a most delighted chuckle.
The plan was simple,
Simple,
Simple,
And brilliant.
They would trick every animal into giving up their greatest skill.
Then they would store the skills in the magical mkoba and then become the greatest being ever,
Ever.
The first creature Anansi came upon was chameleon.
Chameleon had the skill to change color to match anything.
Anansi had to be clever to make chameleon share their skill without catching on to Anansi's plan.
Oh,
Chameleon,
Anansi said,
I bet you cannot turn the color of this banana leaf and this muddly puddle at the same time.
Chameleon,
So very proud,
Proud,
Proud of his skills,
Focused deeply.
While he did,
As a thought,
Anansi snatched his color-changing trick and popped it into the mkoba.
And just like that,
Chameleon became an ordinary lizard.
A few moments later,
Anansi came upon antelope.
Antelope was admiring her thin,
Powerful,
Muscular legs.
With these powerful legs,
Antelope could run faster than the wind.
Oh,
Antelope,
Anansi called,
I see that you are all alone.
I guess everyone must have outrun you.
Antelope replied,
On the contrary,
I beat everyone here.
I ran so fast that I could stand here now and look at my fast,
Fast legs while everyone else is tasting my dust.
Is that so,
Anansi replied,
As a thought popped into their head.
I was wondering,
You are so fast.
Can you outrun your own shadow?
Antelope,
Never one to miss out on a running challenge,
Took off in a cloud of dust and a blur of speed running fast,
Fast,
Fast circles around Anansi.
As the blur that was antelope passed Anansi,
Anansi snatched a pinch of her speed and popped it into the mkoba.
Boop.
And antelope wondered why they were not fast any longer.
One by one by one,
Anansi tricked all the animals.
Anansi tricked the bee out of its buzz.
They challenged monkeys swinging and snatched its grace.
They tricked the firefly out of its light and the hummingbird lost its hum.
The mkoba bulged and glowed heavy with all the wonderful talents.
Filled to overflowing with pride,
Anansi scrambled up a thorny Iroko tree to hang the mkoba on the tippity topmost branch where no one,
No one,
No one could ever reach it.
Now,
All these skills are mine.
All the speed,
All the color,
All the buzz,
All the ee-ow.
A sharp thorn from the Iroko tree poked Anansi and snagged the strap of the precious mkoba.
Anansi tugged and tugged trying to free the stuck mkoba.
Then,
With the fierceness of a lion and the strength of an elephant,
Anansi pulled the mkoba free.
But the slipperiness of slug,
The mkoba flew free of Anansi's grasp.
Anansi watched as the mkoba fell down,
Down,
Down.
With a magical silence,
It tumbled through the thick,
Thick branches of the Iroko tree and vanished into the deep,
Deep,
Deep,
Dense ferns below.
No!
No!
My tricks,
My talents,
My magical mkoba,
Cried Anansi.
Anansi scrambled down,
Frantically searching the forest floor,
Pushing aside ferns and looking under mushrooms.
But the mkoba was gone.
The magic that was woven into it had also hidden it,
Leaving not even a morsel of a trace.
Anansi had nothing.
No tricks,
No speed,
No color-changing ability,
No buzz.
They were just Anansi,
A very sad spider.
They had to find a new mkoba,
And hopefully a magical mkoba,
But how?
They tried to ask Kal for some leather,
But since their clever words were in the mkoba,
They just stammered,
Uh,
Uh,
Uh,
Uh,
Uh,
Oh!
They tried to gather reeds by the river to weave a new mkoba,
But without monkey's grace,
They tripped and fell and toppled into the water.
Splash!
They tried to steal some silk from a friendly neighborhood spider,
But without chameleon's color-changing,
They were easily spotted.
As the sun began to hang low in the sky,
Preparing for sleep,
A tired,
Damp,
And miserable Anansi sat by the fire of grandmother Nana Beruku,
The oldest and wisest.
Why do you cry,
Little weaver?
Nana Beruku asked,
Her voice as soft as the wool of a little lamb.
Oh,
Nana,
Wept Anansi,
I lost my magical mkoba that contained everything,
Everything,
Everything.
Nana Beruku listened,
And then she smiled.
She smiled a knowing smile.
You tried to carry everything alone,
Anansi,
But a thing is only heavy if you do not share the load.
She took Anansi's hand and led them to the center of the village.
There were all the animals Anansi had tricked,
And none of them were angry,
For when the mkoba fell,
All of the things inside returned to where they had come from.
The animals were happy they had their specialties back,
And they were sorry that Anansi had lost the magical mkoba.
Chameleon offered a strip of his finest skin for a sturdy strap.
Antelope offered a tuft of her soft fur to line the inside.
Bee brought wax to make it waterproof.
Monkey donated strong vines to help support,
And Mao the moon offered light so they could see what they were doing.
As they all worked together,
A funny thing happened.
Anansi found they remembered how to weave,
Not with magic,
But with their own eight skilled hands and strong spider silk.
Everyone offered a little of their specialty to help Anansi in creating a new,
Beautiful,
And strong mkoba.
It wasn't magical.
It couldn't double anything,
But it was special,
And it was Anansi's.
Anansi looked at the new mkoba,
Then at the community who had helped them.
Anansi felt a new kind of warmth.
The warmth did not come from trickery,
But from gratitude,
And it filled them.
Filled them.
For each animal had shown up to freely offer the gifts they had,
And everyone benefited.
And that is how Anansi the trickster learned the most clever trick of all.
For the greatest trick is not having everything,
But in knowing how to ask for help,
How to use that help,
And how to honor the gifts that are offered to weave together a stronger,
Better whole.
And if you look very closely at any spider's web,
You'll see it's not just a trap,
But a beautiful woven craft,
Ready to hold just enough and not one thing more.
Just like dolphins swim and antelopes run,
This story has been told,
And now it is done.
In this story,
Mkoba is backpack in Swahili.
Mau is the moon spirit in Dahomey tradition.
Nanabaruku is the female supreme being in the West African tradition of the Fon people and the Ewe people.
