Suriname folk-lore

87. Kɔnkɔni nąŋga Anąnsi.

Anąnsi ɑksi Kɔnkɔni ɛfu' a sabi mɩndri-pas' trɔbi. Ɛ̨ŋ go lerɛ hɛm. Anąnsi tai̯gi Hɔntimąn taki Kɔnkɔn' taki ɛ̨ŋ no frede Hɔntimąn. Dąn a tai̯g' Kɔnkɔni taki, tamara mamɛntɛm sɩksi yuru, dąn a mu go na mɩndri-pasi. Ɛn so srɛfi a tai̯g' Hɔntimąn taki mamɛntɛm sɩksi yuru Hɔntimąn mu go na dę' srɛf' pasi, dą' a sa si Kɔnkɔni. Fa i si Hɔntimąn 'ɛ go, 'a so a si Kɔnkɔni, fa a wani sütu, Kɔnkɔni lɔ̨'.

A go na Anąnsi. Anąnsi ɑksi hɛm, taki, ɛfu a sabi sei̯-pas' trɔbi? Meki a kɔ̨m luku. A tyari hɛm go pɛ wąn tigri bɛn habi pikin. Ɛn Anąnsi teki den pikin ɛn na wąn di a gi Kɔnkɔni a broko dati hanu. Dą' den pikin tigri den bari. So, di Tigri kɔ̨m, dąn den pikin den bari. Anąnsi taki, ‘Mi Tata, luku bǫ', Kɔnkɔni du na pikin wan sani.’ (Ma na ɛ̨ŋ srɛfi bɛn broko na pikin hanu.) Tigri luku na pikin, a si hɛm hanu broko. Wantrɔ̨' Kɔnkɔni lɔ̨' go na wąn hɔro. Tigri lɔ̨' n' ɛ̨ŋ baka fō kɩsi hɛm. Dąn Anąnsi kɔm, a tai̯gi Tigri tak', meki a go suku wan ląŋga tɩki, meki den sutu Kɔnkɔni na ɩni na hɔro.

Di Tigri gowɛ, dąn Anąnsi go na Kɔnkɔni nō, a tai̯g' hɛm taki, ‘Mi ɛ go gi yu pɛpre, dą' yu dɛ kau̯ ɛ̨ŋ na ɩni mɔfo. Dąn, tɛ Tigri kɔm, dą' mi 'ɛ go meki a sütu ɛ̨ŋ ai̯ luku na ɩni na hɔro. Dą' yu bro na pɛpre na ɩni ɛ̨ŋ ai̯.’ Di Tigri kɔm, Anąnsi taki, ‘Mi Tata, sütu yu ai̯ luku na mɔfo na hɔro, ɛfu yu no sɑ si Kɔnkɔni.’ Fa Tigri süt' ɛ̨ŋ ai̯, 'a so Kɔnkɔni bro na pɛpre na ɩni ɛ̨ŋ ai̯. Dąn Tigri lɔ̨n.

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Kɔnkɔni kɔmopo na ɩni na hɔro. Nō mō Anąnsi 'ɛ bari Tigri na ɛ̨ŋ baka. Kɔnkɔni dɛ bari. Ɛn so den hɔr' Tigri fō sipotu.

87. Seeing Trouble: Watcher Tricked.⁴

Anansi asked Rabbit if he knew middle-of-the-road-trouble. He would teach him. Anansi told Hunter that Rabbit said he was not afraid of Hunter. Then he said to Rabbit, he said, tomorrow morning at six o'clock he must come to the middle of the road. And Hunter he told the same, that tomorrow morning at six o'clock, Hunter must go on the same road, and he would see Rabbit. Just as Hunter was going, he saw Rabbit, and as he wanted to shoot, Rabbit ran.

He went to Anansi. Anansi asked him, he said, if he knew side-of-the-road-trouble? Let him come and see. He brought him where a tiger kept his young. And Anansi took the little tigers and he broke the hand of the one which he gave to Rabbit. Then the little tigers began to cry. So, when Tiger came, the little tigers were crying. Anansi said, ‘Father, take care, Rabbit did something to that child.’ (But he himself had broken the hand of the child.) Tiger looked at the child, and he saw his hand was broken. At once Rabbit ran into a hole. Tiger ran after him to catch him. Then Anansi came, and he said to Tiger, he said, let him go and look for a long stick, and let them shoot Rabbit inside the hole (with the stick).

When Tiger went away, Anansi went to Rabbit now, and he said, ‘I am going to give you pepper, then you must chew it in your mouth. Then, when Tiger comes I am going to make him put his eye into the hole to look. Then you [are to] blow the pepper in his eyes.’ When Tiger came, Anansi said, ‘Father, shoot your eye into the opening of this hole to see if you won't see Rabbit.’ As Tiger shot his eye, so Rabbit blew the pepper into his eye. Then Tiger ran.

4 Told by 1. Compare Senegel (Kassonké), Zeltner 107-108; Sierra Leone (Temne), Schlenker 73-77, No. 6; Ivory Coast, Tauxier (I) 321, Gagu No. 3; Gold Coast (Ashanti), Rattray (I) 163, No. 42; Hausa, Rattray (IV) 180-182, No. 8; U.S. (Sea Islands), Parsons (II) 29-30, No. 15 I and II, 59-60, No. 48 I and II; Jamaica, Beckwith (II) 15-16, No. 13a and b; Brazil, Eells, 136-138, No. 13. For another Suriname version see Van Cappelle 340-343, No. 24.

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Rabbit came out of the hole. At once Anansi shouted after Tiger. Rabbit shouted. And so they held Tiger up to ridicule.