OR ?
My mother used to tell us there stories and for the life of me, I can't remember dem in detail : . I will ask her to give me a few to post

i know a few.. esp the one where he played greedy and had to be tied between two towns...

yes.. thats it....

Why Spider Has Crooked Legs

A long time ago, Spider had long, straight legs and ran about with his body high off the
ground. A spider did not like to work, When a drought came and there was not much food,
Spider didn’t even bother leaving his house.

Now Rabbit was not this way at all. She was a hard worker. Every day she went out looking
for food for her family. One, Rabbit was hopping along when she smelled a wonderful smell
coming over a wall. She hopped up onto the wall and down to the ground on the other side.
There she saw a big tree with hudge petals. The peals were filled with steaming stew.
Ooooh! Did it smell good!

Rabbit sang gently to the tree, “Oh beautiful, wonderful,
sweet-smelling tree, would you, could you, would you please drop one little
petal down to me…just enough for my family?”

As soon as the song was complete, a petal full of stew came
floating gently down, down, down to the ground, right in front of Rabbit’s
feet. Rabbit thanked the tree, took a little taste and hurried home to her
family to share the delicious stew.

After that, every day Rabbit went back, hopped up onto the
wall and over it. Then she sang, “Oh beautiful, wonderful, sweet-smelling tree,
would you, could you, would you please drop one little petal down to me…just
enough for my family?”

As soon as the song was complete, a petal full of stew came
floating down, down, down, down to the ground, right in front of Rabbit’s feet.
Rabbit’s family had plenty to eat. Now one day, Rabbit ran right into Spider on
her way home, Spider asked, “Where did you get that steaming stew?”

Rabbit said follow me!

Spider followed Rabbit. Rabbit hopped up onto the wall and over it, down to the ground
next to Rabbit. Spider listened as Rabbit sang, “oh beautiful, wonderful,sweet-smelling tree,
would you, could you, would you please drop one little petal down to me…just enough
for my family?”

A little petal full of steaming stew floated gently down, down, down to Rabbit’s feet.
Rabbit thanked the tree. Now it was Spider’s turn.

Spider did not feel like singing a sweet sing and he was very hungry and wanted as much as
he could get . He looked up at that tree and shouted, “Hey Tree! Give me a great big, huge petal
full of stew! And make it snappy!”

Well, the tree did just that. A huge petal full of hot stew dropped down from the top of
the tree full speed and crashed right on Spider’s back. Splat! Spider fell flat on the ground.

Rabbit pulled Spider out from under the petal and helped him back home. Rabbit stopped
by Spider’s house every day after that and shared a little stew until Spider was well.
Spider finally left his bed, but he now walked with crooked legs, just
as he does today.

The end.






.

Spider and Dog


Spider and all the animals were invited to a feast. And spider
chose dog to be his partner. When the food was ready, they put
spider and dogs food together O.

All along spider never thought dog had a big mouth.
All spider thought was that dog's nose was it's mouth.
So spider was so happy because he thought
he was going to eat all the food from the dog.

Spider told the dog to start eating, my people.
Because he was going behind the house to pee, ahhh.
When spider came back all the food was gone from
the bowl. He ask the dog what happen to the food. And the dog
open his mouth wideeee.

Spider cry and laugh and said O,
I thought your nose was your mouth. And spider never chose dog
as his friend again.

The End.

The moral of the story, don't under estimate people.

oh, I'm going to have to print these so i can tell to my kids one day

That's how to keep the traditions and flavor of Liberia alive for generations to come. Everybody do some. Small small da make big big.

There are many Spider or Anasi stories. Most come from West Africa, especially Ghana and some from South Africa as well.

These three versions come from Liberia.

thanks sooo much Nica.. i coming read all of them to share with rj.. i myself cant remember a lot of spider stories.... but sure used to love listening to them when i was a kid...

You veraaaay welcome. When I get a minute I'll put more here.
Love yor

Spider and the Honey Tree


There was once a young girl from a village far way who had a special talent for finding
the very best foods in the bush. Her oranges were just a little sweeter, her plums just
a little larger, and her bananas had just a little more flavor. Everyone wondered where
she located such delicious fruits. But, nobody ever asked the girl about her secrets of
the bush. That is, nobody asked her after they heard the story about Spider and this
young girl.

One day Spider asked this young girl to help him look for food. He was too lazy to work
for himself and was sure he could trick this girl into sharing her secrets. Hedidn't know
how clever this girl could be..

"Little girl, nobody finds fruits as sweet as yours," cooed the spider.
"Will you please take me with you when you go looking in the bush?"
"I've never done that before," replied the girl.
"It would mean so much if you could do it one time," pleaded Spider.
"Well, I suppose I can do it just once," agreed the girl. "Do you promise to keep my secrets?"
"You can trust me," promised the lazy spider.
"What do you like to eat?"
"Well, I like plums and bananas, of course, but I especially love honey."
"I think I can help you," grinned the girl.

Spider couldn't believe his luck.

The girl lead Spider along the path into the bush. She took him down trails into areas
where people rarely ever go. Spider grinned because he knew he was about to
learn her secret places for finding the very best food. After learning this, he
would never again have to work hard for good food.

"This plum tree," explained the girl, "does not have much fruit so most
people ignore it, but its plums are the sweetest ones in all of the bush."

Now Spider was just as greedy as he was lazy. As soon as the young girl
showed him the secret plums, his eyes became wide and his mouth began
to water. Then, Spider shoved the little girl into the bushes. He rushed
past her and climbed up into the tree. Then, he ate every single one of
the plums. He didn't even leave oneplum for the little girl. And, he didn't
even say thank you!

After his feast, Spider rubbed his very full belly and thought, "This is the
best day of my life! What a great idea! I can't believe she showed me
where her plums are found. I wonder if she will take me to any bananas?

Spider looked down at the girl with his biggest smile and she asked politely, "Do
you want any of my special bananas?"

The girl continued down the path showing Spider her secrets of the bush. They walked
further down the trail into areas where people rarely ever go. "Over here
is a small patch of the very best bananas," declared the young girl.

Again, as soon as Spider learned the secret, his eyes became wide and his mouth
began to water. Again, he shoved the little girl into the bushes. He rushed
past her and climbed the banana plants. He ate every single one of the ripe
bananas. Again, he left the young girl with nothing -- not even one
banana. And once again, he didn't even say thank you!

His belly was so full, but Spider was not satisfied. He wanted to learn more of the
secret places of the bush. He thought to himself, "This girl is really
foolish. But, as long as she guides me, I will continue to eat all of her food."

Again, Spider looked down at the little girl and smiled. Once again, the young girl looked up
at Spider and politely asked, "Are you too full or would you like to find some honey?"

One more time, Spider rushed out of the tree and followed the girl down the trail before
she had a chance to change her mind. The young girl guided Spider deeper and deeper
into the bush where people rarely ever go. "Over here," she instructed, "is a very
special tree. Deep inside a small hole is the most delicious honey in all of the bush."

Now this girl was not nearly as foolish as Spider thought. She had a plan to teach this
greedy spider a lesson. She remembered that Spider loved honey and was not
surprised at all when his eyes became wide and his mouth started to water.

She also wasn't surprised when he shoved her into the bushes, ran past her, climbed
up the tree, and squeezed into the hole. Again, he ate all of the sweet golden
honey, sharing nothing with the young girl. He didn't even share one drop. And
once again, he didn't even say thank you.

When Spider had eaten his fill, he tried to climb out of the tree but he couldn't get out
the hole. His stomach had grown too large. He was stuck!

"Help me, young girl," cried the spider. "I cannot get out of the tree!"
"You wouldn't be stuck if you hadn't been so selfish," scolded the girl.
"I'm sorry for what I did! Please call for help," cried Spider.
"I am not as foolish as you think. You aren't sorry for what you did.
You are only sorry you are caught in the tree."

"No,you're the tree."wrong," lied the spider but in his heart he knew she
was right. He had enjoyed every minute, every bite of food, as long as he
thought he was tricking the young girl. He never expected his idea to turn into
such a problem for him. "Please call for help! I am trapped!"

Finally, a smile crossed over the little girl's face and she said she would do as the
spider asked. She cried for help -- as softly as she could, "Help! Help! The foolish
spider is caught inside the honey tree. Help! Somebody come and help this greedy
spider!" Of course, nobody could hear her whispers for help. And, nobody could
hear Spider's cries from deep inside the tree. They
were too far into the bush where people rarely ever go.

Finally, the little girl looked up at Spider with a clever grin. "Good bye, Spider, I
am going to get some huge oranges for my family. If you want to eat some, just
follow me there." She waved to him as she left to go down the trail.

Nica!!!!

My pleasure. Spider was too funny.