Quit-quit and Anansi

a. Tailors and Fiddlers.

David Roach, Lacovia.

Anansi and Lizard go to a ball. Anansi is a fiddler, Lizard is a tailor. Quit-quit was the fiddler. Anansi was playing, “tum, tum, tum” and all the girls were going round Brar Quit-quit. So Anansi play, “Me nyam-nyam taya!” an’ it please the people. All love taya; all the girls crowded round Brar Anansi. Brar Quit-quit says, “Taya no somet’ing!” Then Anansi comes in with his music—“Me nyam de somet’ing! If taya no somet’ing, whe’ are de somet’ing?”

Brar Anansi said mus’ mak a suit of clo’es for him that kyan’t match. Brar Quit-quit tell him mus’ mak a suit out of maggot-fly. An’ after the ball they went to dinner an’ when the maggot-fly smell the meat, they run off leave him naked.

b. Fiddlers.

Henry Spence, Bog, Westmoreland.

Anansi and Tiger bot’ of dem are fiddler an’ go play fe de king ball. So Tiger could play more dan Anansi. So de king say de man could play de best would get married to de king daughter. Dem had dinner after de ball, so after dem play, play, play, Anansi find Tiger playing more dan him, so de lady more cleave to Tiger. So Anansi whisper to Tiger, say Tiger mus’ play,

Nyam nyam no not’ing!

As he commence play, de lady say de meaning “Belly-feed no not’ing, but mus’ somet’ing!” So Anansi set him fiddle, play,

Bittle no somet’ing, what is somet’ing?

De lady cleave to Anansi an’ drive away Tiger.