<br/>Long ago, Kwaku Anansi was not as famous as he was now. Back then all the stories belonged to his father the Sky God Nyame. Nyame set Anansi three tasks, which most believed impossible to do.<br/><br/>The first was to bring him Mmoboro hornets. Anansi hollowed out a small gourd, and crafted a stopper for it. He then took a larger gourd, hollowed it and filled it with water. He poured the water onto the hornet's nest, and from that nest sprang many angry hornets. "You silly creatures!" Anansi cried. "Why do you stay out here in the rain? I am to small to fit in this gourd, but you are not!" and so into the gourd slipped the hornets, afraid that another downpour was coming.<br/><br/>The second task was to bring him Onini, the python. Anansi first tried a trip noose, placing berries that Onini loved in the center. But when Onini took the bait, he was so strong that he broke the noose without realizing it was there. Next Anansi tried a grease-pit, with plantains at it's center, but Onini just wrapped his tail around the tree, and slipped his front down into the pit to eat the plantains, then pulled himself back out by his tail when he was done. Anansi was getting worried. Next Anansi tried a fly-up, baiting it with an egg, but Onini was feeling so happy that day that he was raised above the ground. When he spotted the egg he just bent over and snatched it up in his mouth, never even coming onto the net Anansi had planned to use.<br/><br/>Kwaku Anansi was very worried now. If he could not even catch Onini, how could he ever earn the stories... and if it was this hard, even if he succeeded, could he complete Nyame's third task? Anansi sat himself down in his home and began to think, and think, and think even more. Eventually he came upon a plan, one that he hoped would work. He strolled down near the river where Onini lived, muttering to himself. "No, he must be, but father said that he was not." Hearing Anansi muttering to himself, the snake slowly peeked his head out of his den. "Kwaku Anansssssi." He said, "What are you mumbling about?" Anansi seemed taken aback at Onini's presence and stumbled back. "Oh great serpent!" He cried. "I was speaking with my father, and I said that you are the longest of all living things. But Nyame said that no, it was the bamboo tree. I am sure that cannot be right, but how can it be proven?"<br/><br/>Onini did not want to contradict Nyame, but since Nyame's own son Anansi was the one that was challenging him he was emboldened. "Of course I am the longest of all living things. We can test it easily. Cut down the tallest bamboo tree you can find, and bring it here. I will lay beside it so you can see I am longer." Anansi nodded, and sprung off to do what he was told. The art of the con, after all, is letting your target have your own way. He brought back the bamboo pole, stripped of all it's branches and laid it on the ground. The snake then laid beside it. "Now, measure me against the poll. You will see that I am larger."<br/><br/>But Kwaku Anansi shook his head. "Onini my friend, this will never do. I am small, so I have to go from end to end to see if you are longer, but when I am at your tail you could slither down, and when I am at your head, you can slither up. No one will believe our measure." Onini by now was rather comitted to his statement that he was the longest, so he crafted an idea. "I know Anansi. Tie my tail to the end of the pole, and then I will stretch all the way out and you will see that I am longer." Anansi was quick to comply. Then Onini stretched himself out as long as he could... but he still could not reach. Anansi scurried up to Onini's head. "Onini, you are growing pale from strain. Let me tie off your middle so that you can rest, and not fall back. Onini agreed, as he was getting very tired by this point.<br/><br/>So Anansi tied off Onini's middle, and the stretching began again... but Onini was still to short, so Anansi called "Stretch Onini, with all you have. Then we can show father. Stretch so hard your eyes close!" and Onini did. And while his eyes were closed, Anansi tied Onini's head to the pole. "There! Now I can show you to father." And, straining under the python's weight, Anansi brought Onini to Nyame.<br/><br/>Kwaku Anansi's third task was to bring Nyame Osebo the Leopard. This truly worried Anansi, for Leopard was strong, and fierce, and what's more, he was smarter than brother lion or brother tiger as well. He would not be so easy to trick as Onini had been... and he would only get one chance... but the stories were truly precious to Anansi, so Anansi sat and thought, and thought, until he finally had an idea.<br/><br/>He dug a very deep pit in the middle of the forest where Osebo lived, and covered it with branches and earth until it could not be seen. He then waited until he saw Osebo passing by and called out. "Osebo. Over here Osebo, here is something for you to eat!" Osebo, seeing Anansi, leapt at him, snarling, but when he landed, he fell into the deep pit that Anansi had dug. Anansi waited a while, then came to the edge of the pit. "Anansi!" Cried Osebo. "Help me out, Anansi."<br/><br/>Anansi shook his head. "No, I can't. Because if I do, you will eat me." "I will not, I swear" Cried Osebo. "Very well." Said Anansi, who then bent a sappling down to the edge of the pit, and tied it down. He then tied a long vine to the end of the sapling, and sent the other end down to Osebo. "Quickly, tie the other end of this vine to your tail, but be sure to make the knot very tight!" Osebo hurried to do so, and when he called that the knot was ready, Anansi untied the sapling, which pulled leopard out of the pit, and into the air... where he hung helpless enough for Anansi to kill him.<br/><br/>Anansi then brought Leopard to Nyame, and handed him over. At this Nyame was most surprised. His tiny son had somehow managed to slay Osebo the leopard. He had not wanted Osebo dead, and was upset that he was, but he had not told Anansi to keep him alive, and he was pleased at his son's success, so he granted Anansi's wish. And that is why from that day to this, all stories told by the Ashanti are called Anansi stories.<br/><br/>But that was not the end of brother Leopard, no. Nyame breathed into Osebo, and brought him back to life, but instructed him that he could not take revenge on Anansi for killing him. Fearing Nyame, Osebo agreed, but kept mindful of the event, and waited for another offense that he could use to end the life of the trickster.<br/><br/>After some time, Anansi became counselor and judge for the lazy lion, king of the Jungle and the Savanna. The lion left the actual judging of cases to Anansi. Anansi was not the cruelest of creatures, but he was very selfish, and so most of his rulings were not for the good of the people, but for his own good. This angered the people, but King Lion would hear nothing against him. One day, so early that Anansi had not yet woken on his own, Lion decided to go hunting, and called Anansi to him. "I am giving you the honor of coming with me on a hunt."<br/><br/>They traveled to a watering hole where the animals had taken to drinking, but by the time they got there, Lion was far to tired, and laid down in the shade. "Anansi, you are my councelor, and very clever are you not?" Asked the king. Fearful for his life and his position, Anansi agreed. "Yes oh King, quite cleaver, and very honored." The lion yawned a great yawn, and licked his chops, before continuing. "Then figure out a way for me to hunt these creatures easily, I am tired, and do not want to show my strength." Anansi sat and puzzled for a bit, before coming up with a solution. "I could build pits all about, and then you could walk around the area and roar, and in their fear the animals would run and fall and get trapped." The king was pleased, and set Anansi to digging the many deep pits. Finally, in noon heat, Anansi had finished the pits, and the Lion walked around the watering hole, roaring. The animals ran and scattered, and many of them fell in the pits, and most of those died.<br/><br/>"Kwaku Anansi." growled the king. "I am pleased with my kill, but how do you suggest we get the animals out of the pit?" Anansi shivered, but quickly picked came up with an idea. "I can tie the animals in the pits below up with rope made from the creeper vines." "And you will then pull them up using those vines, good." Said the king, indicating that he would rather not do the work himself. "Oh but my king. While I, your counselor am clever, you are the king, full of might. Surely you can see that while I can not possibly lift them, it would be a simple task for you." So the Lion agreed, and hauled the animals from their pits, and there was much meat there, enough that even after the hungry lion had stuffed himself, there was still much left.<br/><br/>Though full, the greedy lion did not want to leave any of his kill for others, so he turned to Anansi and asked "Kwaku Anansi, how shall we get the rest of my kill home?" Anansi had seen this coming, and so answered quickly. "Magesty, I can take some saplings, and make a sled for you, to carry the meat on." The king frowned at the thought of more work. "And you will not carry the meat for me? There is less of it than before." "Yes my lord, but there is still far to much for me. And besides, would it be fitting for me to carry the kill of the magnificent King? If you carry it, everyone else will know it was you who caught this mighty feast." And Anansi's words Mollified the king.<br/><br/>So they took the meat home in the manner Anansi had described. By the time they arived it was late evening, and the king was once again hungry. He sat down to enjoy the meat that Anansi had worked so hard to help him gain, and, even while eating it, asked Anansi. "Kwaku Anansi, what do you think we should do with this meat?" Now by this time Anansi was tired, and starving, and quite cross for he had worked all day, and not had a morsel all day. "Well your majesty, since you asked me, and since I worked so hard to help you make your kill, I think you should allow me the little bit I need to fill my belly, and then reserve the largest share for yourself." The king lurched to his feat, growling. "You DARE to tell me, the king, what I should do with my own meat?" the king roared. Anansi shrunk back, fearful for his life, and replied "No your majesty, I was not thinking, I require nothing, please forgive me!" The king stared at Anansi for a long time, before settling back down, still staring at him with cold, inscrutable eyes. "Kwaku Anansi, there is a trap I recall that we forgot to clear. Your punishment for speaking to me so disrespectfully is to go and bring me whatever you find in it."<br/><br/>Anansi fled the lion king's den, and hurried towards the pits he had dug that morning, though it was slow going due to the dark and danger of the night. On his way, he had time to think, and realized that the only reason the King hadn't killed him yet was that he remembered the trap, and did not want to have to fetch the meat himself. Sure that the king would kill him on his return, he gathered up leaves he knew to be poisonous. When he arrived at the pit, he found a large buck deer in the pit, and forced it to eat the leaves. When the poison had run through the deer, and had soundly killed it, Anansi hauled the deer out of the put, and slowly dragged it back to the Lion's den. So hard was the work that he did not arrive until the next Morning.<br/><br/>As Anansi neared the den, he sang out loudly. "Here is indeed meat fit for a king, this is the best meat of the forest. Only a king should eat it." When the king heard this, he pounced on the kill, and set to devour it, so hungry and greedy was he. In the mean time, Anansi scuttled off to hide. Once more full, the king laid down for a nap, deciding to wait for a bit to find and kill the spider. But he was awoken from his nap by a fierce pain in his belly. For an hour the roars of suffering of the lion were heard through the forest, before he laid still.<br/><br/>The animals rejoiced to be freed from their lazy king, and soon a new king was appointed. Strong, swift, speedy<em>Osebo the leopard</em>. His first act as king was to remove Anansi from his position, and call for him to be brought before him, so that he could be punished for all of his bad rulings when lion had been king... but when the animals went to Anansi's home, they found it empty. Having heard that Osebo was to be made king, he had already fled the country.<br/><br/>He settled to live in the neighboring country of King Rat, and for a time lived there happy and prosperous. Unfortunately for him, one day King Rat was visiting King Osebo, and King Leopard mentioned his distaste for Anansi, and his public reason for it, that of Anansi's poor and selfish counsel. King Rat, knowing who his subjects were, was shocked. "Brother Leopard." He said "I had no idea such a rogue was among my people. Please, send who you wish for him, I will not oppose it." Osebo had since appointed as his counselor Kisander the cat, who also greatly disliked Anansi for his own reasons. Kisander agreed that they should send servants to find Anansi.<br/><br/>And so Leopard and Kisander sent two of their most trusted followers to find Anansi. But Anansi had heard of the Rat King's visit. He would have fled, but he had such a nice life in the Rat King's kingdom that he instead devised a plan. He built a deep pit in front of his hut, filled it with deadly spikes, and made a small exit for himself in the back of his hut. When the servants of King Leopard came to find Anansi, he called them over to his door, and down into the pit they fell, dieing on the spikes.<br/><br/>After a time, Osebo and Kisander sent more servants after Kwaku Anansi, warning them not to fall for Anansi's persuasions and tricks, and those servants too met their deaths in the trap.<br/><br/>Finally, Osebo went himself to bring back the terrible Anansi. When Anansi heard that Osebo himself was coming, he set up his chair in the door of his house, and pretended to be asleep. So intent was Osebo on sneaking up on Anansi, that he did not notice the pit in front of him, and yet again, Anansi's tricks and one of his pits proved to be the Downfall of King Osebo.<br/><br/>To make sure that Osebo would trouble him no more, Anansi skinned, cooked, and ate Osebo, and Osebo's skin has hung on the wall ever since. That is, until it was made into a vest, for one of Anansi's favored children. The vest is lined with Anansi's own magical silk, which was died by his wife Aso, and the two wove it deep, and thick, and the cloth tells the story of how Anansi acquired Osebo's hide. The vest includes Osebo's head, which can either be worn as a hood, or draped over the wearer's shoulders, and is tied by the fur from osebo's arms, which still include his claws at the end of his paws. The silken lining of the vest also makes it cooling in hot climate, and warming in cold weather.