Let's Talk Mythology and Folklore

Once, there was a man who eschewed hard work. Every day he spent figuring out ways to avoid work. So it happened that, one day, he turned to theft. He went around to the houses in the area, robbing each at night. So this went until he was caught in the act. A crowd gathered and demanded his head for his crimes. He pleaded for his life and promised to repay every person he robbed. With reluctance, the people allowed him to live, but only if he made true on his promise to repay his debts. The man returned home to think of a way he could pay off his debt. He decided to plant an orchard such that the trees, eventually, would do most of the work in paying off his debt. For once, he worked diligently in planting and caring for the trees of tamarind and dates. The trees grew well, and, eventually, the time came to harvest. As the man began to collect his produce, a great storm came and blew it away. So great were the winds, that his trees were blown over and shattered. The man looked around ...

Or, well, his friends are at least... In The Moon and the Stars , while Anansi is present in the story, his role is actually very minor and what few actions he does take give no indication of his trickster nature.  Kweku Tsin is, instead, the main focus and hero of the story.  When Kweku Tsin and his friends are rewarded at the end of the story, even Anansi is rewarded (in a way) by being made into the moon. This happens despite his past and his trickster/selfish ways? Though, as was mentioned at some point, this may be a slight against Anansi as Kweku Tsin was made into the sun, and, quite literally, he would always outshine his father. The story of the tortoise also interested me for one key reason. The tortoise Klo only made the mistake of drinking a little too much of the strong wine.  He didn't try to weasel out of his duty and even struggled as hard as he could to complete his task. But he still failed and even died because of it. Even after he was bro...

His son was cooler than him... Anansi always tricked and ripped people off. It seems that he did eventually develop a reputation with those around him. However, he was still able to convince many people to go along with his schemes. Most people in these stories have a really quick sense of when they were tricked and act accordingly. While Anansi is a classic trickster, he doesn't ever seem to get away with his tricks. I'm not sure whether this is common in other culture's mythologies but I feel like sometimes the tricksters tend to get away with their tricks. All of Anansi's schemes are usually quite clever, even if they usually end up failing him.  There are lots of famines in these stories. Of course, I am willing to bet that this was (is?) a harsh reality for that area of the world. It makes sense that many of the stories of Anansi's selfishness would come of his own desperation for food.  The fact that Kweku Tsin is such a contrast to the wicked ways of...