How Anansi Bought the World's Stories

In the time before stories belonged to anyone, all tales were kept in a golden chest by Nyame, the sky god. Anansi the spider desired these stories more than anything.

"What will you pay?" asked Nyame, amused that a small spider would dare such a request.

"Name your price," said Anansi.

Nyame demanded four impossible captures: Onini the python who swallows men whole, Osebo the leopard with teeth like spears, the Mmoboro hornets whose stings mean death, and Mmoatia the invisible fairy.

Anansi's wife Aso helped him devise clever plans. He tricked Onini into stretching beside a pole to prove his length—then tied him fast. He dug a pit and covered it with brush, trapping Osebo. He filled a calabash with water and poured it on the Mmoboro nest, offering the calabash as shelter—then plugged the hole. He carved a wooden doll covered in sticky sap, and when Mmoatia slapped it in anger, she could not escape.

Nyame, astonished, declared: "From this day, all stories belong to Anansi. They shall be called Spider Stories."

And so Anansi became the keeper of all tales, which he shares with humanity to this day.