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Girl, wasn't that Brer Anansi all hungry and tired after trekking through the jungle! Then he came upon a group of women washing clothes by the riverbank. "I can make delicious stone soup," Brer Anancy said to them.
One plump washer woman, Haddy, answered, "I ain't never heard nothing like that. Nobody can make soup out-o-stone."
"I can!" Brer Anansi said in his usual cunning manner. "If one-o-you nice ladies would fetch me a cooking pot and a spoon I'll show you exactly how to make delicious stone soup."
Right away, one of the young girls, she was a cutie, dashed to her home in the nearby village and came back with a big pot and a big stirring spoon.
Brer Ananci smiled and said, "wash some stones from the river bed and toss them into the pot." And the women did. And he said, "toss some water into the pot and start a fire." And the women did. And he said, "hand me the spoon, let me see how this delicious soup is coming along." The cute young girl handed Brer Anansi the spoon. Brer Anansi began to stir the stones in the pot. He stirred and he stirred then he took a sip of the water from the pot and said, "this soup needs some salt." The cute girl dashed to the village for some salt. Brer Anansi said, "toss it in there." And she did. Brer Anansi tasted it again and said, "hmm, this soup needs some carrots." The girl dashed to the village for some carrots. Same way, Brer Anansi said, "hmm, this soup needs some chicken." Again the girl dashed to the village for some chicken." After each sip, Brer Anansi kept saying, "hmm, this soup needs" this then that, untill the girl fetched him yams then eddoes then seasoning then dumplins. Even she became very hungry and tired but the women were excited. The woman watched Brer Anansi stir and taste and say, "hmm, this soup is coming along real good." The women watched Brer Anansi taste that soup till his belly got big like he was pregnant with twins, and the fire died down while he kept saying, "ahh, this soup is coming along nicely."
Then Brer Anansi got up, because he wasn't hungry anymore, and he said, "Thank you ladies for letting me show you how to make delicious stone soup; it was delicious."
The plump lady, Haddy, looked in the pot and didn't see nothing but stones at the bottom of the pot, so she said, "What's going on here. I only see stone in this pot, ain't no soup."
Brer Anansi waved as he went on his way, and he said, "You only see stone but the soup was delicious. That soup was very delicious and I showed you how I make it."
(c) NPG
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