How the Elephants Came to Go Off to the Long-Grass-Country

We do not really mean, we do not really mean, (that what we are going to say is true).

THERE once was an Elephant, and he said he wanted some one with whom to play the game called “butting heads”. All the animals said they were unable (to play this game with the Elephant). Now there was Kwaku Ananse (the Spider), and he said, “As for me, I shall be able, but the condition I stipulate upon with you is that, if you should happen to kill me, then you must bury me anywhere else but in a rock.” The Elephant said, “I have heard, and I shall come and strike you for seven days, and you, too, will come and strike me for seven days.” Kwaku Ananse went and dug up yams, and he placed them in the fire, to roast them, and he went and made a latrine near a path. Now, whenever Ananse rose up, he took a yam in his hand, and went and squatted down over the latrine. He saw the little Adowa antelope passing. Now words with their left-behinds (i. e. I forgot to mention something), a great famine had come (at the time). As he (the Adowa antelope) passed, the Spider threw down the yam on the path. Immediately the Adowa took it. He said, “Father Spider, a great famine like this has come, and is this what you use when you go to ease yourself?” Ananse replied, “There is no difficulty at all about food at my home.” The Adowa said, “I and you shall go and get some.” Ananse and he reached the house; he told the Adowa, saying, “There is a certain man, and it is he who brings me food at night; so go and sleep there at the doorway, and when he comes he will say, ‘Asikoto!’ (and you will bend your head) and reply, ‘I take my head to receive it,’ and as soon as you have said so, he will take some of the food and place it there, for you to take.” The Adowa said, “I thank you, Aku; as for you, Father Ananse, really I have never seen a man like you.” The Adowa went and lay down in the entrance to the courtyard. Not long after, the Elephant came. He said, “Asikoto.” The Adowa antelope replied, “I take my head to receive it,” and the Elephant hit him, pan! and the Adowa antelope has died. The Elephant went off. Early next morning, when things became visible, the Spider took Adowa and gave it to Aso (his wife) to make a soup-stew for him. Ananse now went off to the Elephant to give him morning greetings. The Elephant said, “Are you quite well? ’? Ananse replied, “I am well.” Ananse set off and came to his home. He took another of the yams, and went off again to the latrine. He saw Otwe, the Duyker, passing, and he threw the yam away. The Duyker said, “Oh, Father Ananse, a famine like this has come, and this is what you take with you when going to the latrine?” Ananse replied, “If you want some, come, let us go to my home, that I may go and give you some.” The Duyker and Ananse went off. Ananse said, ‘Lie down here at the entrance to the yard, and this evening my slave will come with food, and when he reaches here, he says, ‘Asikoto’; you also say, ‘I take my head to receive it.’” The Duyker said, “I thank you, Aku, you (alone) are capable of arranging such things.” The Duyker went there to lie down. In the evening the Elephant came. He said, “Asikoto.” The Duyker said, “I take my head to receive it.” And he hit the Duyker, and he fell down, (and the sound of his falling was) kum! Then the Elephant went off. Early next morning, when things became visible, then Ananse took the Duyker and gave it to Aso, and set out for the Elephant’s house to bid him good morning. The Elephant said, “Here is Okuamoa, are you quite well?” Okuamoa replied, “Perfectly well.” Then they conversed for a while, and Ananse begged leave to go, and returned to his home. And now Ananse did the same thing with Oyuo, the black duyker; Wansane, the Bush-buck; Kokotee-Asamoa, the Bush-pig; Otromo, the Bongo; and Oko, the Roan. Now, it was Ananse’s turn to go and strike the Elephant. Then he went off to a blacksmith’s forge to fashion an iron wedge; and he made an iron hammer to go with it. In the evening, he went to the Elephant’s home. Ananse said, “Asikoto.” The Elephant said, “I take my head to receive it.” The Spider took the iron wedge and placed it on the crown of the Elephant’s head, and took the iron hammer and hit it, pan! pan! pan! and it (the wedge) disappeared (into the Elephant’s head). Ananse then came home. Early next morning, when things became visible, the Elephant said to his wife, “I have a splitting headache,” and his wife said, “Don’t talk like that, you ought to be ashamed about it; even Ananse, whom you hit for seven days, did not get a headache, nor has he died, and you talk like this; now be off and give Ananse good morning as he used to do.” The Elephant pressed his eyes (i. e. made a great effort), and went off; he got to where Ananse lived. The Spider said, “Powerful hero, are you quite well?” The Elephant replied, “Oh, I am all right.” The Spider said, “Really.” Ananse went and forged another wedge. When night fell cool, he set out to go to the Elephant there. “Asikoto,” he said. “The Elephant replied, “I take my head to receive it.” Ananse took the wedge, placed it there, and hit it with the iron hammer, pan! pan! pan! Ananse came back to his home. Now there he was, when a messenger arrived and said, “Ananse, the grandfather of all the Elephants says that I must come and inform you that your friend, the Elephant, when he lay down, did not rise up again; so come and open a rock and take him and put him inside.” Ananse said, “Not at all, that was not the arrangement we made. We said that if one died, the other should boil him to chew.” The messenger went off to give the message to the blood-relations of the (dead) Elephant. They said, “Go and take him and fetch him (here) at once.” The messenger came there to the Spider and said, “They say you are to come at once.” Ananse said, “You must wait for me:” The Spider went to the bush and cut a tree, and carved it into a wooden-man, and he carved out a gun, and put it in its hand, and he gave it to Aso, saying, “Take it, go in front, put it down at the place where they say I must split the rock, and you will also stand there, and when I come, you will call to me.” Aso picked up (the wooden figure) and went off. The Spider, too, set off with the messengers. Ananse arrived in front of the Elephants, and they took a hoe, and a crow-bar, and an axe and a knife, and placed them in his hands. They said, “Get on.” Then they took the Spider to where there was a certain great rock. They said, “Split it open, dig a hole, and place the (dead) Elephant inside.” Spider went to it, pe! pe! pe! (sounded his tools). There Ananse was, when he (suddenly called out) “Yes.” He said, “Elephants, do you hear, (it is) as if some one calls me?”. The Elephants said, “Get out, you seek a way to escape.” Ananse said, “I have heard.” And he went on with his work, pe! pe! pe! Then again he shouted, “Yes.” He said, “Some one calls me.” The people said, “We will not allow you to go.” (It was) thus, thus, seven times. At length they said, “Go and listen (who it is) and return at once, and if you run away, we shall get you.” Ananse went off to where Akua’s child was. Now Ananse ran (back), kiri! kiri! kiri! (was the sound of his feet). The Elephants said, “Ananse, what is it?’ He said, “Oh, you must be off, for surely there is some hunter standing there, and he says I must draw myself a little to one side to allow him to fire his gun and hit you. That is why he has called me, and called me, saying I must stand aside.” When the Elephants were about to make search there in the bush, of a truth they saw that some one was standing there, and they fled. Ananse said, “Father hunter, kill them for me.” The Elephants fled; it was into the Tall-grass-country, and they left the dead Elephant behind there, and Ananse took it and went and chewed it. That is how Elephants came to go to the Tall-grass-country, for once upon a time Elephants (only) lived in the forest.

This, my story, which I have related, if it be sweet, (or) if it be not sweet, some you may take as true, and the rest you may praise me (for telling of it).