How Anansi Rode the Buffalo

Anansi the Spider boasted to the King that he could ride the fearsome wild Buffalo as his horse. The King laughed and promised Anansi a great reward if he could do it. Anansi went to the Buffalo's grazing ground. "Friend Buffalo," he said, "The King wants to see you, but the sun is hot, and I am feeling weak." The Buffalo, who had no fear of Anansi, snorted. Anansi continued, "I am so weak I fear I will faint on the way. Would you mind if I just sat on your back for the journey?" The Buffalo, amused, agreed. As they walked, Anansi said, "Oh, the flies are biting me! Do you mind if I use these vines to hold on, so I don't fall off when I swat them?" and he looped vines around the Buffalo's neck like reins. A little later he said, "My feet are being scratched by the thorns. Do you mind if I use these sharp sticks to guide you away from the bushes?" and he put sharpened sticks by the Buffalo's flanks like spurs. When they came in sight of the King's palace, Anansi pulled the vines, dug in the sharp "spurs," and shouted as if he were taming a wild beast. The Buffalo, surprised and in pain, began to buck and run wildly. The King and all his court saw Anansi riding the fearsome, bucking Buffalo and were amazed. Anansi won his reward, not through strength, but through a series of small, cunning deceptions.