အ့နဲစံၣ်ဒီးလီတာ်

So Anansi thought of a clever plan to take over Rabbit’s farm. Soon Rabbit was left poor and homeless.

Anansi went to the market to sell the fruit and vegetables Rabbit had grown. He made so much money that he filled a big basket with it! With some of the money, he bought maize for his family, and put it on top of the money in the basket.

Anansi happily headed home with his basket on his head. He sang as he thought about all the things he was going to buy.

On the way, it started to drizzle. Soon the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour. Anansi left his basket on the side of the road to shelter under a tree. From there he kept a close watch on his precious basket.

It started to rain even more heavily. Anansi became cold and wet, so he ran into a hole. "I will stay in this hole until the rain stops," said Anansi to himself. "At least my money is protected by the maize I put on top of it."

A little while later, Vulture was flying around and spotted the basket on the side of the road. He saw that there was money and maize in the basket. So he covered the basket with his wings and waited for the rain to stop.

Anansi saw Vulture sitting on his basket. When the rain stopped, he came out and spoke to Vulture. "Oh thank you, my friend, for protecting my basket," he said. "Did I hear you right, Anansi?" asked Vulture. "You think this basket is yours? No! This basket is mine. I found it here on the roadside." Anansi could not believe his ears! "It’s mine, I tell you!"

Furious, Anansi reported the theft to the chief. But Vulture defended himself. "How could anyone leave a basket full of money and maize unguarded on the road?" "I was watching my basket," said Anansi. "It’s my money and my maize!" "No, I was looking after the basket when you came and said it was yours." replied Vulture.

The chief and the elders listened carefully to both sides, then sent Anansi and Vulture away. They discussed the situation for a long time. Eventually they reached a decision.

They summoned Anansi and Vulture again. "We believe Vulture’s story," they said. "He is not the thief. You were trying to claim something that was not yours." Anansi could not believe his ears!

The news soon spread that the judgement had gone against Anansi. As he walked away, he heard Rabbit laughing and laughing. Rabbit got his farm back. And Anansi was right back where he started, unhappy and jealous.