One chilly morning, Trickster Anansi and Sheep ventured away from their small town to embark on a journey across the vast land of their country. As the journey took way, the loud rumble of their stomachs took precedence over the long journey ahead of them. The two always carried their own spoons with them. For you never know when you'll stumble upon a place to eat with nothing to eat with! It was around breakfast time and Trickster Anansi and Sheep knew that they must be fully nourished in order to make the rest of long trek.
Trickster Anansi and Sheep decided to stop in a nearby town in order to dine in for breakfast. As they neared the entrance of the small diner Trickster Anansi got a cunning idea. He knew exactly what to do. The small red diner smelled of fresh pancakes and fluffy waffles as they sat in their small booth waiting for their food to arrive. Trickster Anansi's plan had become a full-fledged scheme and all he had to do was wait for the food to arrive.
Out of the corner he saw a young waitress bringing over a plate stacked full of pancakes for him and another stacked high of waffles for Sheep. It was time to enact his plan.
"Hey, Mr. Sheep", Anansi started. "You weren't supposed to bring your own spoon inside of the restaurant. You should probably go set it back down outside."
Now Sheep has always been gullible and he didn't blink an eye before getting up and sauntering slowly out of the red door.
"Got him, " Mr. Anansi thought.
In the thirty seconds it took for Sheep to step outside and step back, Anansi was already finished with nearly half of his pancakes.
As Sheep sat down to enjoy his food, Anansi enacted Step 2.
"Oh Sheep, I am so sorry. While you were gone I accidentally dropped knocked your spoon off the table and they took it away. You should probably go back outside and get your spoon."
Gullible Sheep took his word for it and immediately stood to walk back outside to grab his spoon.
Once again, Anansi took this opportunity to not only polish off the rest of his pancakes but also nearly half of Sheep's waffles. As Sheep neared the table Anansi knew it was time for Step 3.
"Sheep, while you were gone they brought you another new, clean spoon. You should probably take your spoon back outside," Anansi said.
Of course Sheep believed him. For the last time, Mr. Sheep walked back outside to put his own spoon down.
As he returned to the table he was shocked! Not only was Anansi's plate empty but his waffles were also gone!
So Trickster Anansi got away with another cunning prank.
Author's Notes: This story is modeled after the story of "Sheep and Anansi". In the original story, Anansi tricks Sheep into allowing him to eat all of the food they shared by making him return his spoon to an unidentified location only to have him go get it again. The original story utilized alot of traditional Jamaican colloquial dialogue and dialect. I decided to basically retell almost the same exact story but without this included dialect and also in a more modern setting. I though it would be a good idea to have Anansi and Sheep be visiting a diner in order to have a definite location unlike the original.
Bibliography:
Sheep and Anansi
Martha Warren Beckwith
1924
Trickster Anansi and Sheep decided to stop in a nearby town in order to dine in for breakfast. As they neared the entrance of the small diner Trickster Anansi got a cunning idea. He knew exactly what to do. The small red diner smelled of fresh pancakes and fluffy waffles as they sat in their small booth waiting for their food to arrive. Trickster Anansi's plan had become a full-fledged scheme and all he had to do was wait for the food to arrive.
Out of the corner he saw a young waitress bringing over a plate stacked full of pancakes for him and another stacked high of waffles for Sheep. It was time to enact his plan.
"Hey, Mr. Sheep", Anansi started. "You weren't supposed to bring your own spoon inside of the restaurant. You should probably go set it back down outside."
Now Sheep has always been gullible and he didn't blink an eye before getting up and sauntering slowly out of the red door.
"Got him, " Mr. Anansi thought.
In the thirty seconds it took for Sheep to step outside and step back, Anansi was already finished with nearly half of his pancakes.
As Sheep sat down to enjoy his food, Anansi enacted Step 2.
"Oh Sheep, I am so sorry. While you were gone I accidentally dropped knocked your spoon off the table and they took it away. You should probably go back outside and get your spoon."
Gullible Sheep took his word for it and immediately stood to walk back outside to grab his spoon.
Once again, Anansi took this opportunity to not only polish off the rest of his pancakes but also nearly half of Sheep's waffles. As Sheep neared the table Anansi knew it was time for Step 3.
"Sheep, while you were gone they brought you another new, clean spoon. You should probably take your spoon back outside," Anansi said.
Of course Sheep believed him. For the last time, Mr. Sheep walked back outside to put his own spoon down.
As he returned to the table he was shocked! Not only was Anansi's plate empty but his waffles were also gone!
So Trickster Anansi got away with another cunning prank.
Author's Notes: This story is modeled after the story of "Sheep and Anansi". In the original story, Anansi tricks Sheep into allowing him to eat all of the food they shared by making him return his spoon to an unidentified location only to have him go get it again. The original story utilized alot of traditional Jamaican colloquial dialogue and dialect. I decided to basically retell almost the same exact story but without this included dialect and also in a more modern setting. I though it would be a good idea to have Anansi and Sheep be visiting a diner in order to have a definite location unlike the original.
Bibliography:
Sheep and Anansi
Martha Warren Beckwith
1924
Hi Lauryn,
ReplyDeleteWow, I love how short and sweet you kept your story. It seems very professional and is quick and easy to read.
I wonder that Sheep did not notice when he came back that half of his food was gone!
Also, maybe you could add a sentence or two telling us what happened after this? Did they leave, and Sheep just had to deal with his hunger? Or did Sheep order something else?
On the other hand, maybe it is best left how it is. You know best! Just some things I was curious about.
Fantastic job, and good luck with the rest of the semester.
Hey Lauryn,
ReplyDeleteI always like a good story about tricksters! They definitely keep stories interesting in an unexpected way. I was surprised that Sheep fell for the same trick three different times! This just shows how much Sheep trusted Anansi to tell the truth. I guess this story shows that you should be careful who you trust in this world, especially with food!
Lauryn,
ReplyDeleteExcellent story you’ve written here! Despite not changing a whole lot of the original story, I can get a feel of your influence on the story. One question: how does the picture of the spider relate to your story? Without a caption, I just assumed Anansi was the spider. Nonetheless, that’s something you’d have to address only if you decide to add this to your portfolio/storybook. Keep on writing great stories!
-Lance J.
Hi there Lauryn,
ReplyDeleteWow, I love what you did with this story! You really kept the bones of the story intact and preserved a lot of the original character and charm, but you updated it in such a fresh and fun way that it's natural to read and enjoy in a modern setting. I also really enjoyed the breakfast food. I can definitely empathize with Anansi's love of pancakes and waffles. The poor sheep didn't seem too bright, and his trusting nature meant he missed out on some great food.