Many years ago, before your ancestors' ancestors' ancestors' ancestors were even dreamt of, the world was a very different place.

Men tottered around on their two sad legs, slower and more ungainly than any other animal, and if two legs were bad and four legs were better, then what did that say about eight? Anansi knew the answer to that question, but getting him to give it to you wouldn't have been easy.

Anansi embodied all of the quick wittedness and intelligence that comes so naturally to spiders, and he used them often, especially to trick others with his fast words and clever plans. In spite of this, Anansi could not help but look around and think to himself how much more interesting the world would be if people could tell stories! Unfortunately stories were the sole property of his father Nyame, god of the sky, who kept them locked away in a box high up where none could reach.

Deciding this would not do, Anansi rose up to the sky on a long silken thread to ask his father to give them to him so that he could spread them far and wide and let others share in such wonderful things.

Nyame was heartened to see his clever son find a way to come see him, but was also fiercely protective of his belongings, and so he decided that he would give his child a task so impossible that it would never be completed. If Anansi somehow managed to do this thing then Nyame would give the stories to him to do as he saw fit.

"Stories are a great thing, surely I could only trade them away for something equally great. Bring to me Mobor Hornets, whose stings are many, painful, and deadly. Bring to me the Python Onini, whose great muscles can crush the life from even the strongest creature. Bring to me the unseen Fairy Mmoatia, whose pride is outstripped only by her greed and great anger. Bring to me the fearsome Leopard Osebo, whose maw is so great that it can swallow anything and whose hunger is so large that he will. These are the only things of such value that they are worthy of my stories."

Anansi left swearing that he would bring these things before his Nyame, but his father could only laugh, knowing that such a feat could not be accomplished.

As Anansi climbed back down his strand of web he wondered to himself how he could accomplish such a feat, bringing one of these to his father would be difficult, but the four together? Was such a thing possible? He did not know for sure, but he was certain of one thing: If he were to do this thing, he would need to utilize trickery, his greatest asset. Before his long legs had even touched upon the earth again he had already devised his plans.

First he went to Onini's resting spot and, just outside of it, he began to loudly argue with himself. Onini, afraid of nobody, went outside to question who was interrupting his rest.

"Great Onini! I apologize greatly for interrupting your rest, I had no idea you were so close! My wife and I, we are having an argument, she believes that this stick," Anansi pointed to a large nearby branch, thick and stout, "Is longer than you are. I, of course, know better, but she will not be swayed. Surely she is mad."

Onini looked at the 'stick', it was certainly long, but so certain was he of his size he was convinced it wasn't longer than he.

"This is a simple matter, I will simply lay myself along the stick, then surely all will see that it's not as great as I am."

Anansi agreed, thanking Onini for showing his wife the error of her ways. Onini laid himself alongside the stick but there was a problem: When Onini tried to stretch his front half to his full length his rear half would naturally curve, and when he tried to stretch his rear half his front half would curve. In this way, Onini was unable to prove that he was longer than the stick.

"Great Onini, I am sorry that I have brought this trouble to your door. I shall leave you and, though it pains me greatly to do so, tell my wife that she was right."

"You'll do no such thing!" Onini was angered by his inability to do this simple thing, but he saw a way forward. "You will use your strong web and as I stretch against the stick you will tie me down with it so that I'm unable to coil up. In this way I shall prove you right!"

Such wisdom! Anansi did as he was told, making certain that Onini was fastened securely to the thick branch until at long last the python had indeed stretched itself out longer than it. Victorious, Onini told Anansi to free him and go home to tell his wife that she had been wrong the entire time.

"But I will do no such thing." Anansi answered.

And this is how Onini was captured, by using his vanity against him.

Some time later the always hungry leopard Osebo found himself with a problem. Somebody, he was certain it was some stupid man, had dug a pit and covered it with a thin net of weaved grass and a layer of greenery, and now Osebo was at the bottom of it. Even he, as mighty as he was, could not bring himself to leap out of it. He scrabbled at the sides, trying to gain a good enough grip to climb up as he would a tree when hunting, but although they cut through flesh with ease they could not penetrate deep enough to hold his weight. He had begun to despair of his situation when he heard the sound of whistling above as someone walked nearby, he called out loudly in his great voice. The whistling stopped and soon the face of Anansi appeared at the lip of the pit.

"Now who was so foolish as to fall down such a large hole? Surely everyone has enough sense to avoid such a thing."

This angered Osebo, but as he opened his mouth to threaten the always-talkative spider above him he stopped. This far out would anyone else find him? And surely he could simply devour Anansi later, without warning, as was his preferred way to hunt.

"It is Osebo, some fool dug this pit and hid it. Help me to escape so that I may find who has done such a thing and make sure they don't do it again."

Anansi tilted his head, seemingly uncertain that his was such a good idea.

"But Osebo, you're so large and so strong, surely also hungry, how can I be sure that you won't gobble me up if I free you?"

This was his plan, if nothing else to keep the shame of his predicament secret, but surely he could not let Anansi know that or he would never give his help.

"You have my word that I will not. Surely you know how strong I am, if I wanted to eat you I could leap up there now and do so in one bite."

Anansi's head tilted further to the side, now more curious.

"If you can simply leap out then why do you not?"

Osebo growled, Spider was always curious, always asking questions. Osebo, used to being too feared to be questioned, did not like this. He yawned, so he would seem relaxed, and felt quite clever at his trickery.

"I simply do not want to, if I did I would be even hungrier."

Anansi's head rolled back and forth as he tried to make his mind up what to do.

"Okay, since you've given your word that you won't eat me I will lower down a rope, surely you'll be able to climb up."

Osebo agreed with this plan and licked his chops, certain that soon his belly would be full. Soon he could see the end of a long rope making its way down to reach him, but surely this was too thin to support his weight. Worried, he asked Anansi if he felt it would be strong enough.

"You are right. Although I used this same rope to climb into the sky and see my father you are surely far heavier than I am. I have much of this rope, let me weave it into a strong net to better support you."

In moments Anansi had weaved his net as he said he would and lowered that down instead. Osebo hesitantly reached forward and tested it, sinking a claw into the weave. It held.

"This is very strong, this will do well."

Anansi's answer drifted down to Osebo, dripping with mockery. "Osebo you are strong whereas I am not, but I am more clever. We all have our own talents."

Osebo was filled with anger at this insult. His climb had started as a slow one but now he was almost at sprinting speed as he pulled himself faster and faster up the wall, he would soon make Anansi regret his insult. The net grabbed at him when he wasn't careful, but with his rage driving him forward he threw care to the wind.

"But how clever will you feel…"

He was roaring now as he crested the lip of the pit, moving so quickly as to propel himself high into the air with the net trailing behind him.

"... When you're in my belly?"

He landed, but instead of with his usual grace it was with a great tumble. His limbs, long and powerful, were bound tightly into the strong and sticky net. He lay on the ground, unable to move, roaring in his frustration.

"Osebo if I were to end up in your belly then I wouldn't be very clever at all, but luckily for me you can't eat me if you can't move. Now give me a moment to fill up my pit, I would not want anyone to get trapped."

And this is how Osebo was captured, by turning his strength and speed against him.

The Moboro Hornets were fierce warriors who moved as one against their foes and then feasted on their innards as they rotted in the sun. Inevitably some would fall, but they'd be replaced by three more, always attacking without mercy. They feared no beast for who could stand up to such an army? But what they did fear were the rains, which washed away their nests and could drown all of them at once. So when the rains began to fall unexpectedly they sent a contingent outside to see what was happening.

What they found was Anansi, soaking and shivering.

"The rains! They are not due for some time yet but they have begun to fall in earnest!"

He cast about, panicked, for it was more than just the Hornets who knew to fear the power of water.

"Can you help me? I see a large gourd on the ground near your nest but the hole is too small for me to fit inside!"

The contingent of Hornets ignored Anansi's pleas and through the power of their hivemind relayed this information and a consensus was quickly reached. Instead of Anansi, they would hide in the gourd to wait out the rains. If Anansi tried to get inside as well they would swiftly kill him, that way they would have food until the rains had passed. Quickly they all flew from their nest and, with perfect precision, they flew through the hole in the gourd with none of them so much as brushing the sides.

Heartbroken, Anansi went to the nest, asking if there was anyone within who could possibly help him to escape the rains but there was no response. Every single one of the Moboro Hornets had fled inside the hollow gourd. Certain that there were no Hornets left outside he walked to the gourd to once more plead his case.

"Are there none of you who will help me to get inside and escape this horrible rain?"

There were none. They told him that if he tried to enter they would use his body to sustain them through the wet times. This was their home now.

"Surely you are right, this is your home now."

With that Anansi covered the hole with a thick layer of his sticky web, ensuring it was nice and tight so that none of the Hornets could escape. He then went and grabbed the large leaf he had used to carry the water that he'd poured over both himself and the Hornet's nest, carrying that and the gourd he walked off.

And this is how the Moboro Hornets were captured, by exploiting their territorial nature.

Mmoatia was crafty, perhaps even as crafty as Anansi though he would be unlikely to admit it if it were true, and she had escaped many traps laid and attacks launched thanks to her tendency to stay invisible. In this way she would always find her assailants before they could find her and deal with them appropriately. Powerful though she was, there was one thing moreso: Her love of yam paste. And so it was that she was drawn to a small clump of trees where there was a child eating yam paste that its mother had prepared, although she was nowhere to be seen now.

"Hello child, would you be so kind as to share some of this delicious yam paste with me?"

The child nodded wordlessly and cautiously, ever so cautiously, she crept forward. Seeing that this child baby meant her no harm she began to eat from the bowl as her host had allowed. Once she'd had her fill she thanked the child but the child said nothing, did not so much as nod in acceptance of her gratitude.

Though Mmoatia was cautious she was also quick to anger, and in her anger at her gratitude being ignored she smacked the child as hard as she could across its cheek. Instead of recoiling or crying out it was silent still, holding fast to her hand for good measure, this did nothing to alleviate her anger but instead drove it to greater heights.

Mmoatia reached out and slapped it with her other hand, and now that hand was claimed by the baby as well, ever angrier she started to kick at it, tried to tackle it to the ground to smother it beneath her, but every strike and movement only cause the baby to cling to her more tightly until at last she was so entangled that she could not even move. Still angry, she shouted at the baby.

"Are you happy now?! Because of what you did neither of us can move now and you are sore!"

The baby nodded and there was the sound of uproarious laughter from the tree above them. Though it was hard to do so, Mmoatia moved her head to see whose laughter it was.

It was Anansi, the trickster, and she could see that he held a long, narrow web that was tied to the baby's head. In this way he had made the 'baby' nod.

"I am happy indeed, Mmoatia! And sore too, but I don't hold that against you. I had to chew the seeds of the gum tree to sculpt your new friend, what do you think of my work? Pretty convincing, right? But now I have the last thing I need to fulfill my end of the bargain I made with my father."

And this is how Mmoatia was captured, by letting her indulge her wrath.

Finally having done as his father bid him to, Anansi threw all his captives into a large sack and threw a web into the sky. He climbed and climbed and climbed until at long last he came close enough that he felt his Nyame would hear his shouts.

"Father! I have come to make good on our trade!"

Nyame, who had already forgotten that he'd sent Anansi to fetch these beings came close.

"Anansi! What brings you up to see me?"

Anansi reached down to open the sack that he had fastened to himself, and from it he pulled the enormous python, still fastened tightly to the large branch.

"Here, I bring you Onini, who was so eager to prove his greatness that he paid no attention to how he was doing so."

At that moment Nyame remembered the bargain he had made with his son. He reached out and took the stick and snake, tucking them away. He was amazed that his son had managed to capture such a creature, but not worried for his stories.

Anansi reached again into his sack and this time he pulled out the great leopard, still thrashing angrily in the sticky net that held him fast.

"Here I bring you Osebo, he is strong and he is fast but I angered him greatly so that he did not notice he was being captured until he already was."

Nyame took the bundle of netting and examined it, as Anansi had said he could see the angry eyes of Osebo within it and hear his cries of anger. Surely such a thing wasn't possible, his son was clever, but surely cleverness alone could not overcome strength such as this.

Anansi reached into his sack for the third time, this time pulling out a dried gourd with a large patch of web on its side.

"Here, I bring you the Moboro Hornets, all of them have taken up residence in this gourd. They are frightfully angry with me so please wait until I am far away before freeing them. In their rush to escape their own fate and ensure that none could do the same they were too hasty to realize they'd been fooled."

Nyame picked up the gourd between two fingers, examining it closely, but it was only a gourd. He gave it a hard shake and held it up to his ear. There, unmistakably, was the sound of their army. They were buzzing angrily inside, ready to take that anger out on anyone they could find. Could it be? Had Anansi truly completed his impossible task?

Anansi reached into his sack for the final time, this time carefully pulling out the now misshapen gum baby he had made, which was made difficult by the inside of the sack clinging to it.

"Last, I bring you Moatia, though she is invisible now. In her anger at not being recognized as fully as she felt she deserved she struck this baby I made by chewing the seeds of the gum tree. She slapped and kicked out at it until she could no longer move her arms of her legs."

Delicately, trying not to get any of the sticky gum on himself, Nyame picked up Anansi's last item. Even without bringing her close he could hear Mmoatia's angry shouts. Yes, it seemed as though Anansi had fulfilled his end of the bargain, in underestimating his son he had been tricked as surely as his new gifts had been. Staying true to their bargain, Nyame gave his stories to Anansi to do with as he pleased.

Anansi was glad. He thanked his father and clambered down his rope once again before heading home to his wife Aso. There he locked himself away, neither eating nor drinking nor relieving himself until he was familiar with all of the stories. When he came back out Aso yelled at him angrily but relented and made him a large meal so that he could regain his strength, which Anansi ate in its entirety.

"Husband, you have been shut up with those stories all this time, were they everything that you hoped?

"They were, they were that and more. But there are so few, surely there must be more stories out there."

"Surely, but if people don't even know what stories are then how should they pick them? There is so much world out there that you could never find all of them."

Anansi nodded. His wife was right, he knew the stories now, their sound and what they looked like. But he wanted more, he wanted so many stories that he would never run out of them.

"Then I know what I'll do to get more."

He would go to the humans, who were spread out all over, even in places where animals could not reach or survive. He would share the stories he had with them, teach them what they were, and collect from them even more. He would no longer be the only one who owned stories, but in return he would have more than even he could imagine, and he could imagine very much.

And so he did, setting out to find a group of humans as they moved in groups both large and small. When he found some he called out to them, asking them to share food with him since he'd been walking such a distance. They did, and while they sat with him in a circle he shared some of his stories with them in return for the meal. It wouldn't do for them to know that he was giving the stories simply to spread them, better that they felt they'd earned it.

He was amazed to find that once they'd been introduced to stories, once they knew what they were, they learned that they had been collecting stories all their lives. Humans collected stories the way that bees collected pollen, they stuck to them as they passed through their lives.

Anansi left them then but he was not done, over many days and nights he travelled, introducing the stories to different groups of men until finally he felt that he'd spread them as far as he could. He returned home and as time passed he began hearing new stories filtering their way through to him. Some were interesting, great injustices being righted and great dangers escaped, but others brought nothing but boredom. A somewhat small harvest or the drying up of a water bed might be interesting to those it affected, but from so far away it did not hold his attention. For someone who almost thrived on stories alone now it was horrible.

Then he noticed something. Some places, some people, produced better stories than others. Two groups at war with each other always produced better stories than two groups at peace, a warrior and a farmer produced very different types of stories, both important but distant from one another. He made a decision: He would share his gifts, himself, with people who could provide the best stories. In this way he would discover the best ones and keep them alive to provide him more.

And in this way he chose his first avatar.

"Tell me Peter, is any of this striking a chord with you?"