Anansi and the River Spirits

There was a famine in the land. Anansi and his family were starving. One day, Anansi was walking by the river when he saw a group of river spirits pull a net from the water filled with beautiful, fat fish. They sang a magic song, and the fish were instantly cooked. After they ate, they sang another song, and all the fish bones came back together and turned into live fish again. Anansi hid and memorized the songs. The next day, he returned to the river and sang the first song. A net full of fish appeared. He sang the second song, and the fish were cooked. He and his family had a great feast. But Anansi's greedy son, Ntikuma, did not want to put the bones back. He said, "Why should we? Let's eat them all!" He ate his fish, bones and all. Anansi, wanting to show off, went back to the river and sang the song to return the bones to the water. But because Ntikuma had eaten his share, one fish could not be made whole again. The river spirits rose from the water, furious. "You have stolen our magic and broken our fish!" they cried. They seized Anansi and gave him a terrible beating, sending him home bruised and empty-handed, a lesson for his greed and his son's disobedience.