Long ago, Anansi the Spider did not look the way he does today. His body was round and heavy, and his eight legs were short, thick, and very strong, made to support his large belly. Anansi was not a cruel creature, and he did not wish harm on others. However, he had one powerful weakness that controlled his actions. He was endlessly hungry and could never resist the promise of food, no matter the situation.
One morning, as Anansi wandered through the forest, a rich and tempting smell drifted through the air. He followed it until he reached the home of his friend Rabbit, who was carefully cooking beans with honey and fragrant spices. Rabbit greeted Anansi warmly and explained that the food was not ready yet, but invited him to stay and eat when it was done. Anansi wanted the meal but refused to wait, so he spun a long thread of spider silk, tied one end around one of his legs, and gave the other end to Rabbit. He told Rabbit that when the beans were ready, a hard pull on the thread would call him back immediately. Satisfied with his plan, Anansi left.
As he continued walking, the same thing happened again and again. At Monkey’s house, the smell of roasting fish and yams made Anansi’s hunger surge. He tied another silk thread to a second leg and gave it to Monkey with the same instructions. He repeated this trick at the home of Bush Pig, where taro was cooking, and at Antelope’s home, where vegetable soup simmered slowly. Each time, Anansi refused to choose one meal and instead tied another leg to another pot of food. By the end of his journey, all eight of Anansi’s legs were tied with silk threads, each one connected to a different friend and a different delicious meal. Anansi believed himself to be very clever and felt certain that he would eat every feast without missing a single one.
Eventually, all the food finished cooking at the same moment. One by one, the animals pulled the silk threads, each trying to call Anansi to their home. Rabbit pulled. Monkey pulled. Bush Pig pulled. Antelope pulled. Anansi was stretched painfully in all directions at once, unable to move or escape. He cried out for them to stop, but the forest was wide and his voice could not reach them. The pulling grew stronger until the silk threads finally snapped, and Anansi fell into a nearby stream, exhausted and aching. When he dragged himself out and looked at his reflection in the water, he saw what greed had done to him. His belly was still round, but his once thick legs had been stretched long, thin, and weak, and they would never return to their former strength. From that day on, Anansi carried this shape forever as a lesson that greed brings pain rather than reward.