Ananse and the Lizard: A West African Tale

Can the legendary trickster be out-tricked?

All the young men had gathered in the village courtyard to hear the Chief's pronouncement: Whoever guesses his daughter's name will have her hand in marriage, inherit half his riches, and become the next Chief. No one outside the palace had ever heard the royal daughter's name.

In a stroke of luck Ananse the spider discovers the secret.

"I, Ananse the most wise . . . the most clever . . . I alone know the name of the Chief's daughter! . . ."

But cleve...