As the sun sets on a plantation in Jamaica, children flock to Mr. Kwaku for a story. They all know he’s full of tales from Ghana, the land of their ancestors. But what they don’t know, Kwaku winks, is how their ancestors got those stories in the first place.
牙买加种植园的日落时分, 一群孩子围在夸库先生 身边听他讲故事。 孩子们的祖先来自加纳, 而夸库知道那里的许多故事。 夸库眨了眼,但孩子们不知道 他们的祖先们是如何 得到这些故事的。
Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God. People on Earth were bored and knew nothing about their history. But one creature decided enough was enough. Anansi, the tricky, shapeshifting spider, resolved to bring the stories down to Earth. He spun a web that stretched into the clouds and climbed up to confront the Sky God. Crouching at Nyame’s feet, Anansi shouted at the top of his lungs that he had come to take ownership of the world’s stories. Looking down from his golden stool, Nyame hooted with laughter at the spider’s absurd request.
很久以前,所有故事属于 天空之神尼亚美。 地球上的人们觉得无趣, 他们对自己的历史一无所知,。 但有一个生物 想要改变这一切。 一只狡猾,会变形的蜘蛛 阿南西想把这些 故事带给人们。 牠织了一张伸进云层的网, 与天空之神对峙。 阿南西对尼亚美大声喊道, 自己要抢走世界上 所有的故事。 尼亚美从金色的 王座往下看, 对蜘蛛荒谬的要求哈哈大笑。
Nyame told Anansi that he could have all the stories he wished— but only if he could complete an impossible task. If Anansi brought him Osebo the Leopard, Onini the Python, Mmoboro the Hornet, and Mmoatia the Forest Spirit, then he could take the stories. Anansi humbly accepted. Nyame didn’t see him grinning as he scuttled away.
尼亚美告诉阿南西, 想要得到所有的故事 就必须完成一项 不可能完成的任务。 如果阿南西给牠带来了 豹子Osebo、蟒蛇Onini、 大黄蜂Mmoboro 和森林精灵Mmoatia, 牠就可以把故事带走。 阿南西谦虚地接受了挑战。 尼亚美没有看到 阿南西离开时的笑容。
Back on Earth, Anansi grabbed his magic bag and set to work. Anansi found Onini the Python bathing in the sun. Anansi scoffed that Onini couldn’t be the longest animal, saying he looked no longer than a piece of bamboo cane. Enraged, Onini stretched himself across the bamboo to prove his lengthiness. Anansi quickly bound him tight-tight to each end and placed him in his bag.
回到地球上,阿南西 拿上魔法包开始工作。 牠先找到了正在 晒太阳的蟒蛇Onini。 阿南西挑衅Onini,说牠不可能 是世界上最长的动物, 说牠比一根竹竿还短。 愤怒之下,Onini在竹子上 把身体伸直,来证明自己的长度。 阿南西乘机紧紧地绑住牠, 然后把Onini放进包里。
Next, Anansi dug a great pit in the middle of the path Osebo the Leopard usually prowled, and covered it with banana leaves. Sure enough, mighty Osebo soon fell in. Anansi scolded Osebo for his carelessness, but offered to rescue him. As he helped Osebo out of the pit, Anansi swiftly jabbed him with his knife. Osebo fell back to the ground where Anansi wound him up tight-tight in spider thread.
接着,阿南西在豹子Osebo 会经过的路中间 挖了个大坑, 并用香蕉叶覆盖住。 果不其然,强大的Osebo 很快就掉进了洞里。 阿南西责备了粗心大意的Osebo, 但表示自己愿意救牠出来。 当牠帮助Osebo爬出来时, 阿南西迅速用刀捅了牠。 Osebo掉回洞里, 被阿南西用蜘蛛丝紧紧裹住。
Then, Anansi heard Mmoboro and his hornets buzzing. He cautiously approached them. This would be tricky— their stings could make someone swell up and die— but Anansi knew they hated rain. He filled his mouth with water and spat it at the swarm. As they panicked, Anansi urged the hornets to shelter in his gourd, where they found themselves trapped.
然后,阿南西听到Mmoboro 和黄蜂们的声音。 牠小心翼翼地走近他牠们。 这很不容易, 黄蜂的刺带有剧毒可能致命, 但阿南西知道 牠们讨厌雨水。 牠往嘴里灌满水, 朝蜂群吐去。 黄蜂们惊慌失措的 躲进阿南西的葫芦里, 被困在里面。
Anansi had one more task: to capture Mmoatia the elusive and mischievous Forest Spirit. She usually hid herself deep in the woods, but Anansi knew she was lonely. So, he made a little doll covered in sap and left it in her path. When she came upon it, Mmoatia spoke to the doll but became enraged when it didn’t answer. She hit the disrespectful doll and her small fists stuck to its sticky surface. Anansi wrapped Mmoatia up tight-tight and scooped her into his bag along with the other creatures.
阿南西的最后一项 任务是捕捉 难以捉摸且顽皮的 森林精灵Mmoatia。 她通常躲在树林深处, 但阿南西知道她很孤独。 于是,牠做了一个娃娃, 用树液覆盖后留在路中。 Mmoatia上前来 与娃娃说话, 因为娃娃没有 回答而生气。 她挥起拳头砸向娃娃, 却把手黏在了娃娃 粘糊糊的表面。 阿南西把Mmoatia裹紧, 与其牠生物一起 丢进了牠的包里。
Triumphantly, he climbed his web back into the clouds. When the Sky God saw that Anansi had completed the impossible task, he was amazed. Nyame told Anansi that he had earned the world’s stories. Dancing for joy, Anansi gathered them up, stuffed the stories into his bag, and descended to Earth. There, he scattered the stories throughout the world for people to share.
牠得意洋洋地回到云端。 当天空之神看到阿南西 完成了这项棘手的任务时, 他惊讶不已。 尼亚美告诉阿南西 牠赢得了全世界的故事。 阿南西高兴地把故事 收起来,塞进包里, 然后回到地上。 牠把故事散布到 世界各地,供人们分享。
And they did, Kwaku tells the children. Generations have continued telling and reimagining Anansi’s stories even after being stolen from Africa and enslaved. Anansi may be small, but “cunning’s better than strong,” Kwaku says, and tells the children to take Anansi’s stories with them wherever they go. Looking at his audience, Kwaku knows that Anansi will persist as a symbol of resourcefulness and resistance in the face of oppression, and a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.
而夸库告诉孩子们, 人们成功地分享了这些故事。 后人们仍在讲述 阿南西的故事, 即使因被奴役而离开非洲。 夸库说,阿南西虽然小, 但“狡猾总比强壮好”, 并告诉孩子们无论走到哪里, 都要带上阿南西的故事。 看着他的听众, 夸库知道阿南西将作为 一个足智多谋、反抗压迫的象征, 以及故事持久力量的证明活下去。