Week 7 Storytelling: Anansi and Nothing

Author's Note: In the original story of "Anansi and Nothing," Anansi and Nothing were on their way to town to find wives. Anansi persuaded Nothing to change clothes. Now that Anansi was dressed in fine clothes, he found many wives while Nothing only found a wife because a woman felt bad for him. They all walked back home and when the wives saw Anansi's shack they were all disappointed. They decided to live with Nothing and his wife. Anansi was furious and decided to kill Nothing. After many attempts, Anansi finally succeeded. I decided to rewrite it because I didn't like the character Anansi or how the story ended. I don't like how Anansi took advantage of his friend and then got mad at him and tried killing him multiple times.

Anansi and Nothing
Anansi was a very poor man. He lived in a little run down shack while his friend, Nothing, lived in a lovely palace nearby. One day, they decided to go a few towns over to find some wives.

Nothing was dressed in a very nice, velvet jacket while Anansi wore a ragged cotton one. On the way to town, Anansi asked, "Do you mind if we switch clothes for a bit? I'm starting to feel a bit chilly."

"Well of course!" replied Nothing. "You don't want to catch a cold on the way to meet our future wives." So they switched clothes and on they went, continuing their journey.

As they were nearing the town, Nothing asked to switch clothing again. Anansi evaded the question and said "Actually, I'm still a little cold..." Nothing felt sorry for him and let him continue wearing the jacket.

By the time they got to town, it was too late to trade clothes. Anansi was dressed magnificently and didn't have any troubles finding a wife. In fact, he found multiple wives to take home with him.

Poor Nothing was stuck in the ragged jacket and was being overlooked. Until a sweet woman came towards him and started talking to him. They talked for ages and she decided to be his wife. She didn't care that he looked poor. She liked him for him.

So Nothing and his wife and Anansi and all of his wives all walked back home together. At the split of the road, where Nothing and Anansi would part, Anansi took off the jacket and said, "Thanks for the jacket Nothing! I really owe you one!"

Anansi continued walking but instead of going towards the palace, he walked straight to the run down shack. Nothing and his wife walked hand-in-hand towards the palace. Anansi's wives were furious.

They went with Anansi anyways, but the six wives and Anansi had to share one small bedroom and they barely had anything to eat. Nothing's wife felt sorry for her friends and invited them over for dinner.

The wives joined Nothing and his wife for dinner and saw how great he treated her. He surprised her with flowers, pulled her chair out for her at dinner, and looked at her adoringly.

The wives realized that Anansi didn't treat any of them like that and that they deserved better. After dinner, they marched back to the hut and told him that they were all leaving him.

Anansi was furious. He thought of many ideas to kill Nothing, but none of his plans worked. He decided to dig a hole in front of Nothing's door and fill it with sharp knives.

He banged on the door and shouted for Nothing to come out. But Nothing's wife begged him to stay inside.

After a few minutes, Anansi grew impatient. He was so frustrated that he started pacing and mistakenly walked right into the hole. He was so wounded that he died almost immediately.

(Velvet Jacket, Source:Dark Brown Hairs) 

Bibliography: "Anansi and Nothing" from West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair (1917).