443: Tricksters: Does Whatever A Spider Can

0:00This time, on Myths and Legends, we're telling the stories of the legendary trickster, Anoncy, from West African folklore. We'll see how to recruit small lizards and spider children to help you out with your capers, and that if someone gets mad that you made fun of them and doesn't want to hang out with you anymore, they must pay. The creature this time is a rotund little snake who is more popular than you'll ever be. This is Myths and Legends, episode 443. Does whatever a spider can. This is a podcast where we tell stories from mythology and folklore. Some are incredibly popular tales you might think you know, but with surprising origins. Others are stories that might be new to you, but are definitely worth listening. We've told Anoncy's stories in this podcast before, a long time ago actually, in episode 32. Anoncy is an interesting character, because even more than most tricksters, he's both

1:01aspirational and a cautionary tale. He's someone who very much lives by his own rules and will not bend in the face of even the strongest enemies. This is aspirational for, say, people who were enslaved and taken across an ocean and subjugated in a world they didn't recognize. However, you live in a close knit society where people rely on one another. Well, Anoncy is at best a scoundrel and at worst a monster people can rally against. Because of how far the Anoncy stories have traveled, there's no official or canon Anoncy tales. I found these in a book of African folklore, so while it's not super specific, I'm inclined to believe they came from the Akhan people and Ghana, and along the Ivory Coast. Anoncy is a spider man. And it really depends on the story, how much man and how much spider there is. Basically it's pretty loose. But in most he's a functioning member of human society in at least some way. Anyway, we'll catch up with Anoncy by going back in time to his single days.

2:05But all that's about to change because Anoncy and his friend are headed into town to meet some wives. Anoncy, the spider man, was walking with his neighbor, a man whose parents both had a ton of money, and apparently also a cruel sense of humor. Maybe it was a boy named Sue's situation where to help ensure their son would grow up to be successful and to be someone in the world, they named him nothing. Nothing's name ended up being ironic. Like a massive loony tunes goon named Tiny or Little John being the biggest man in Robinhood's crew, because nothing took his inheritance and, through shrew maneuvering, increased it tenfold. But he never forgot where he came from, or his friends, like Anoncy. A thin ragged cotton cloth?

3:07Hmm, nothing pointed out. I just thought that Anoncy would probably wear his best clothes to go get wives. And yes, that's why they were on the way to town. To get some wives. Nothing, let me tell you something about love, Anoncy declared. You should never marry someone who loves you for what you can give them. You should marry someone who loves you for who you are. That's why I'm wearing this raggedy cloak. I might only meet one wife, but we will love each other no matter what. That's actually kind of sweet. Nothing smiled. Still, I don't dress nicely just for me, but sort of because I want to show respect for those around me by putting my best foot forward. Anoncy looked nothing up and down with a laugh. Hey, I feel respected. That is a beautiful velvet cloak. He wasn't as rich as nothing. In fact, he didn't know if he would ever be able to afford such a beautiful cloak as that. There was a pause.

4:07Wow, to even like, imagine what that might feel like against my skin is one of the most rewarding experiences I think I might ever have. There was another longer pause as the two men walked. That alone would be such a gift. Anoncy said, mustering as many tears as he could. Like three. Do you want to try on the cloak, Anoncy? Nothing asked. Found Anoncy's own thin, ragged cloth cloak thrust into his hands, and the spider fingers grasping. Anoncy threw the velvet over his shoulders and exhaled. Ah, okay, can I get my cloak back, Anoncy? Nothing asked. Suddenly worried about lace and fleas, or whatever else felt like was crawling on his skin. Anoncy's knitted brow. And protruding lower lip pleated. Aww, could he please use it for just a widow? The longer? Why are you talking like that?

5:09We're almost there and I wore this cloak for a reason. Nothing said. Correction, we are there. Anoncy said, and strode in the town wearing nothing's cloak. Well, nothing scratched underneath Anoncy's nasty, repurposed blanket. The three young women laughed at nothing's new, solitary wife. Yes, wives, yes! Anoncy said, laugh at her. Make her feel bad, her mom pitted this nothing man in his paltry cloak, such that she gave up her daughter to him. Your family's made the right choice. Make her feel terrible about the life she'll have with him. Anoncy, come on, what are you doing? Nothing said as he walked next to his wife. I'm just joking, but relax. We all know you're nothing.

6:10He turned back to his wives with a wink. They giggled, not knowing that his name was literally nothing. A servant up ahead waved his arms for his master. Ah! He had a successful trip in town and returned. The servant had come with refreshments and fresh clothes. These wives rushed forward, but nothing got there first. Anoncy, what are your wives doing? Nothing said when they reached for the cup. Nothing, please. It's a long walk back, at least be naprally. Anoncy said as he reached for a goblet of his own, one that was retracted by the servant with a glance from nothing. I've done enough for you today. Nothing said. Tossing the raggedy cloak down in the dirt. And sighing as his servant draped the new one over his shoulders. As the six people continued on, roads began to diverge. The women with a Nazi drifted without thinking to the wider, paved road. Nothing held up his hand, sorry, but that was the road to his house.

7:12Their families had chosen anoncy for them and hadn't given nothing a second look. Unfortunately, they needed to live with their family's choices and go with their new husband. Come on, wives. Anoncy waved for them. His robe was half finished, and the finished side was in disrepair. Long neglected and overgrown. Squinting down the wide, paved road, the women saw the palace. Looming beyond the animal skins, countless servants had spread for their master and his wives to walk on. Reluctantly, they followed Anoncy. Nothing's fields and crops obscured the owner, until the man and his wife were out of sight completely. The woman dispaired when the road, farther in, where only Anoncy traveled, became worse and worse, terminated in his house. His hut with something resembling but not quite equivalent to a roof. Walking through a door that was mostly just decorative at this point because they were

8:13still, in fact, outside, Anoncy took a moment and wrapped the velvet cloak tighter. He closed his eyes and luxuriated in, for even just a moment, feeling like someone who didn't need to experience the consequences of his own poor decision-making. He took it off and tossed it on the floor. After the first week of marriages, Anoncy was up one roof and down one wife. The women didn't want to sleep exposed to the sky, and since some house maintenance was to be expected in such a role in society at this time, they patched the walls and got thatch for the roof. They procured firewood and water when asked where the plantains were so they could get started on the fufu. Anoncy returned out of breath with an armful. He told them to dig a hole to stash them so they could ripen, but do it quickly. And a stern looking man and his brothers from the village came just as Anoncy finished piling dirt on, saying that they had followed the trail of stolen plantains here. Anoncy invited them to search the house and laughed at them when they turned up nothing.

9:15The wives peeled the plantains afterward, but they wouldn't be ripe for days, if ever. Anoncy declared that they wanted plantains, so he got them plantains. Man, complain much? After the third straight meal of unripe plantains, and the peppers that seemed to grow in Anoncy's land despite Anoncy, one wife stood and walked out the door. Oh, oh, he was sorry that he couldn't be as fortunate as nothing. But the seasons have been unpredictable and his crops either kept failing or wouldn't grow, and that his livestock had been carried off by him because he was hungry. Aren't you neighbors with nothing? One wife said, I mean, don't you experience the exact same seasons? It looks like no crops were planted at all, and the crop that's never planted never grows. Anoncy nodded that, was a brilliant idea, wife, too. Tomorrow, his two remaining wives would get planting. The second woman who left took longer to leave than the first.

10:17She and her co-wife plowed the fields and planted the crops. Wives two and three left together, returning to the village and their families, effectively divorcing Anoncy on account of his own fraud. Then months later, wife two returned to the house, where the thatch was already beginning to fall away and what crops that had sprouted in her absence had withered to chaff. Her face was tear-street, and her abdomen swollen. She was with the child. She could leave, but Anoncy, as the father and her husband would have rights over the life of the child. Further, her family couldn't easily secure a new match for her now, so she was forced to return. The other women had secured a new match. Anoncy could see them across the wide fields, where he forced his wife to come with him, as he snuck onto nothing's land to steal food. The women were pampered in the palace.

11:18Anoncy gloured. Nothing was making a fool of him. For that, he would pay. Another one of her cooks is ill. He might die. Nothing's wife said over dinner. Nothing shook his head. That was bizarre. How did that keep happening? The wives looked at one another and then to nothing. But they really, having this conversation, again, they knew who it was. The same person who hung all those logs to drop and swing at his head like some Ewok trap, where the person who lined his cloak with knives, where the person who hired those goons but didn't pay them enough to wait all day, so they left before nothing made his trip into town in the afternoon. We don't know about that last one. Nothing said. We do. Anoncy's wife warns us of everything. It's Anoncy. Nothing sighed.

12:19He refused to believe that his neighbor, his friend, was capable of that. If you let him continue, one of these times he'll be successful. He needs to be punished. It's the only thing he understands, the wife said. But nothing shook his head. He couldn't believe Anoncy would do something like all of those things. Anoncy's life is punishment enough. Nothing said. Taking a bite of dinner. I can't imagine being him. The wife said that was the problem. Nothing couldn't imagine being him, so he didn't know what Anoncy was capable of. The lengths he would go to in order to avenge even the pettiest slight. Anoncy refused to speak on it anymore though. And said that he, they would take the high road, they would persist. The wives weren't wrong, of course. Anoncy was very much taking the low road, with all the attempted murders, especially now, too, because Anoncy had found a rat.

13:23Anoncy sat down on the ground across from the literal rat. He apologized for insisting that this couldn't be in his home. Anoncy's wife just hated rats. The rat understood. He was trying to combat that stereotype and actually preferred to do his business out in the open like this. Show everyone he had nothing to hide. So you dig, right? Anoncy studied the rodent. The rat said they would do anything Anoncy needed, and their prices wouldn't be beat. Anoncy stood and paced. He had a client that preferred anonymity. But well, the rat looked like a trustworthy fellow. Did the rat know nothing? Rat was almost offended, but quickly understood that Anoncy was talking about the guy. Oh yeah, nothing. Great man. Well someone is trying to kill him. Anoncy said, with no small degree of panache, as Rat knew, Anoncy was nothing's neighbor and best friend. So he was taking the initiative here. They were going to set a trap for the murderer.

14:23The plan was this, a hole, a deep hole, right in front of nothing's front door. Rat would dig into the field and bore it at a safe distance, working underground, digging it out until there was just a thin layer of earth under nothing's front step. Then they would lure the murderer and he would fall in the hole. The rat asked why Anoncy was coming to him and not nothing, but Anoncy only laughed. That really was a decent guy, huh? Couldn't think like a criminal at all. If the bad guy saw nothing talking to the rat, then he would draw the conclusions and avoid the trap. Rat nodded, wow. Yeah, that made sense. Nothing was lucky to have such a good friend looking out for him. It took a while and Rat had to bring in extra guys and buy more tools for the job, but eventually he did it. He cleared out everything. He gave a load bearing amount of dirt that Anoncy said he himself would get when the time was right to lure the murderer. Rat brought out the papers to settle up, but Anoncy looked at the setting sun.

15:27It was getting late tomorrow. Tomorrow Rat would get everything he had come into him. Wow, paid and full tomorrow because there's no other way to read that. Thanks. You've really been great, Rat said, through his pickaxe over his shoulder and whistled while he walked away. After that, Anoncy got to work himself. Ugh, I have to give him a chance. Nothing side, looking out the window. You actually don't. Nothing's first wife said. The others agreed he really didn't. Anoncy had been standing out in front of Anoncy's manner, beating his chest and weeping. Saying that he was sorry if nothing's feelings were hurt by things that may or may not have transpired and that nothing felt he needed an apology. Anoncy wanted to talk it out. See what he did wrong.

16:27This... We're just saying this is not a good faith confession and reconciliation on his part. The wives noted, at best. He's gonna pick apart what you say and tell you how wrong we all were for feeling deceived, slated and abused by him. At worst, it's another murder attempt. I think after the first few murder attempts, your empathy started being a liability. Something that he's praying upon. You don't owe him anything. I believe in forgiveness. Nothing said. Besides, this is probably nothing like the time last week he made a peace offering and put all those cow drops in our soup. Nothing opened the door and Anoncy's tears stopped instantly. Wow. Thank you for coming out to talk to me. When you just walk directly out, Anoncy said, just from where you are, take five steps forward. Very specific and odd. Nothing said. But if that's what it takes to heal this rift, then so be it.

17:30Friend. Nothing began walking. One, two, three. He didn't make it through for before the ground gave out beneath him. And he slid. At night, after rat left, Anoncy was in the hole, not only greasing up the edges, but lying it with knives and broken glass. Too many knives and too much broken glass. Think of an appropriate number of knives and broken glass shards for a murder pit and then like, triple it. Say what you want about Anoncy, but he didn't do anything halfway. Except work. And relationships and following the law. And most payments and contracts and most things he said. Nothing's wives screamed. And Anoncy joined them. Oh no, who could have done such a thing? Those little screen footprints. That looks like the job of rat. Anoncy would make sure that guy was brought to justice for this senseless crime.

18:30Before the authorities came from the village, Anoncy would just go collect all those things he would let nothing borrow over the years. Pro-Bate Court can get so messy. Anoncy said a tearful goodbye to his wives as he died at the bottom of a greasy knife-strune pit while Anoncy looted his house. Rat, of course, was hunted for his crimes and his reputation forever tarnished. But then sentiment subtly shifted against nothing. When people came to assess what nothing would pass on to his wives, it turned out his holdings were actually much less than what everyone thought because the boundaries for the fields were much closer to his home than anyone thought. It seemed he had been farming and raping on Anoncy's land. No one would weep for someone who would steal from their neighbor except nothing's first wife. She would boil yams and mash them up, walking around the villages and giving them to children if they would weep for her husband. That's why, according to the story, if you find a child crying and ask the parent the

19:33cause, you will often be told that he is, quote, crying for nothing. Kids cry for no reason all the time, but apparently not. Yeah, the takeaway here is that your child's emotional needs matter and that they're never really crying for nothing. They're crying for nothing, a nice man who fell down a greasy murder pit. Next up, Anoncy is starving, but looks upon his deceased grandfather, at least that's what he's gonna tell the town while he struggles under that delicious antelope carcass trying to get it back home. But that will be right after this. Quince's like stealth replacing the stuff in curses in my closet. Get one thing from them and it's like, wow, this is great quality.

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21:33Download the quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash legends. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. That's quince.com slash legends. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. If you could wake up tomorrow, me better at one thing. What would that be? For me, it's 100% time management. We've been doing this podcast for 11 years now and I still stay up until 1am on Tuesday night sometimes to get the show out. And I'm sometimes still in my pajamas because no one's going to see me hunched over my desk like a cave troll. Hopefully not some on like one though. Better is a feeling defined by you. And for BetterHelp, it's a better help therapist who really gets you. It's a focus on global emotional well-being with thousands of therapists and millions of members in over 100 countries. It's progress. And it's getting better at, but for me getting your work done at a reasonable hour

22:35so I can be less cave troll like. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com slash myths. That's better H-E-L-P dot com slash myths. Anoncy was starving. And this time it mostly wasn't his fault. It was a time of famine. So even if he had been working the fields or rather his children had been working the fields that he inherited from nothing, they wouldn't have had anything to show for it. Hunger can get people to do some crazy things. Like for an oncy, work. One was a bit crankier with him than usual, so it made his usual tricks dangerous. In fact, he just made his eldest son, Queku, accidentally rich. Anoncy had surprised Queku when the young man found a spring and a forest full of animals.

23:36As dad, Anoncy had declared ownership and hunted every animal in the forest until the place was quiet, planning to sell the meat in a neighboring village. If only God hadn't found him. Or rather his son, Queku, who, knowing how wildly manipulative his father was to follow him, also knew how superstitious and downright cowardly his dad was. Queku had hung a puppet from a tree. And Anoncy, believing it to be a God when Queku bellowed behind it with a deep, booming voice, gave up the meat. He arrived back at his village to his son selling the last of it, and telling the story, to Anoncy's humiliation. So Anoncy was now out scavenging, and hello there, a dead antelope lay next to two trails of blood. The antelope had gotten extremely lucky and evidently gored its attacker, then it got decidedly unlucky when it succumbed to its injuries. Whatever had hunted it had eaten a few bites quickly and then stumbled off.

24:37But now, slightly rotting meat was back on the menu. Anoncy though knew that if anyone saw him carrying an antelope carcass, they would steal it, because that's what he would do. Anoncy was unable to see from any perspective but his own extremely limited one, even if to give them the benefit of the doubt. While they would steal it, or they would expect him to give to people who were in need, ugh. Anoncy scurried home to get a woven mat. Whatever your scheming, can you at least keep the collateral damage limited to you, his wife of many years now, asked him, um, wouldn't be collateral damage if I did. Anoncy said with a laugh as he dug through the chest at the far end of the room, but no, I'm not scheming. I know that face, that feverish rush for a random item to do a secretive task, you're scheming. I'm not scheming, Anoncy barked, then found the mat. Oh, okay, here it is, the defensiveness. Wait, this is a full-on capper. Are you doing a capper?

25:39There's no capper, Anoncy said. Which was mostly true, it was barely finders, keepers. I don't even care, his wife said. As long as it means we get something to eat and there are violent repercussions for me or the children, she turned to go get wood for the fire. And me? No violent repercussions for me, either? Anoncy asked. I think we both heard what I said, his wife replied and left. The spider-man, harried for all of his family's requests that he not do harmful, self-destructive things, rolled up the mat and left with a grumble. What do you think he's got in that mat? Leopard said to Wolf. Wolf shrugged. Anoncy, what you got in that mat? Wolf yelled to Anoncy, who was struggling under the weight of the bulky, rolled mat.

26:41Sweating, the spider-man turned. Oh, hey guys, just his grandpa. He died back in his house from oldness. Our condolences, leopard said. How old was he? Fort 400? No, that's too old, Anoncy said. And older than me, but younger than the earth? He nodded and continued on, under the rather large corpse of his spider-grandfather. He thinks were fools, right? Leopard asked. When Anoncy was out of air-shot, Wolf rolled his eyes, you think? They stalked Anoncy as the spider-man walked through town, with all the townspeople giving him what bits of food or drink they could spare out of sympathy. Anoncy was playing it up, too, because the louder he wept, the more everyone believed him, or at least, wanted to keep him moving. As he passed through town, Wolf and Leopard talked about what they do. After Quaku made a fool of his father before everyone, he revealed something that he probably didn't even intend in his story.

27:42His father was a coward. When faced with a threat, he would flee before fighting. A spooky noise and a proto-paper-maché god had gotten him to drop his meat the last time, and Wolf and Leopard wagered that they could do as much with half this time. So they snuck ahead and climbed a tree between the town and Anoncy's house. And when the spider-man got close, they shook the tree, made spooky noises, and called him by name. And of course, it worked. Anoncy shrieked that it was happening again, but for real this time, dropped the antelope wrapped in a mat, and bolted for home. When he was out of view, the two predators leapt down and dragged off the mat without looking back. They were super happy to find a not-descicated spider corpse, but a plump antelope one, and secreted it back to Wolf's den. Back at the tree, however, Anoncy had summoned his courage, and returned to find the antelope, gone.

28:42It took some very light detective work. He might have noticed the claw marks on the trees. The wolf and the leopard prints were the fur-tuffs on the bark. He didn't, though, and just followed the long line made by the mat that dragged the wolf's house. Without making a sound, Anoncy, fuming and plotting, headed home. Hey, Mr. J! Anoncy's wife heard from the young lizard whose teeth Anoncy was filing. She just returned from gathering supplies in town and came home to this. This is going to take forever if you keep talking. Anoncy sighed. Anoncy was just in town. Apparently someone kidnapped a young lizard from his home. The wife asked, looking at the young lizard in her home. Oh, it's fine. Actually, yes, it technically was kidnapping when I napped him, but he's cool with it now. Right? Small lizard? Anoncy asked the small lizard, and then said the lizard was allowed to speak in order to say yes.

29:43Yes. Small lizard said. Anoncy went back to filing his teeth. It is a caper now, by the way. Anoncy informed his wife. I found an antelope earlier. Wait, for real? An antelope to eat? Mm-hmm. But wolf and leopard stole it. I'm going to get it back, though, because they mocked my intelligence. Anoncy declared. Oh, and something, something, taking food from my starving family. He muttered. For once, Mrs. Anoncy was down with her husband's plans. As long as he kept her or their children out of it, she did want to eat this week. Hey, gentlemen. Can I get some fire? Small lizard smiled 15 minutes later, showing off his superfiled, super sharp teeth. Are those wolf scrambled over and admired small lizard's teeth?

30:47What are- oh, these? Filing spider did it for me this morning. What do you think? Wolf thought that it would make things like, you know, a theoretical and not at all actual antelope, much easier to eat, trying to tear through that hind leg alone was enough to wear out his jaw. Once again, theoretically, leopard agreed. They gladly gave small lizard a little fire before rushing over to Anoncy's house. Sorry again about your grandfather, wolf said with a pouty face, when Anoncy answered the door to see him and leopard. If they could ask, did he file small lizard's teeth? Could he do theirs? Anoncy said that he would. In fact, he would do it for free. The work was nice to keep his mind off the loss of his grandfather, which of course happened. 15 minutes later, they were back at Wolf's house. Anoncy with his filing things, and he gestured to a nearby tree. All right, he just needed them to hang upside down.

31:48Both leopard and wolf looked at Anoncy and then at the tree, um, why? And also, how? Anoncy said the why was easy. So the filings fell down to the ground and not down their throats. The how he could admit was a more challenging problem. For him, a spider and for small lizard, hanging upside down was nearly as easy to standing right side up. For them, things would be more difficult. Oh, okay. He had an idea. Anoncy returned with a rope. Wolf and leopard were so excited for sharp teeth so they could eat that antelope, and so sure Anoncy was a complete fool, and in no way suspected they took said antelope, that they didn't think twice about letting Anoncy bind them and hang them upside down from a tree. I am so excited, wolf-hound. I know, right? Anoncy said and called out to his young sons. Okay, they're bound. You can call them in.

32:49Leopard and wolf looked at each other. Wow, okay. Took a whole team, then. It takes a village. Okay, well, it actually did take a village, though, because that was the entire village walking through the trees. Anoncy raised up his arms and called out to the crowd, but a number of people made it to the clearing by Wolf's house. His younger children got started making the fire. My friends, you might know me as anoncy, the wise, intelligent, and classically handsome spider. That was met with confused silence. But today you know me as the one who brings justice. Wolf and leopard in this trying time found an antelope. Gasp's went up. They were going to feast while you starved. There's a saying that you can't con an honest man. Well, that also applies to wolves and leopards, apparently. Through my words, and also justice, I tied them up. Now we will all share in the bounty that they tried to withhold.

33:51None will engorge themselves, but none will starve. Cheers went up from the people as the children dragged the antelope out and began slicing away the meat, passing it to others to cook and still more to hand out. Through to anoncy's words, there was enough for all to get at least a little and sooth that ache in their stomachs. At least for a moment. The village came around and thanked anoncy for his generosity and sense of justice. Even Queku, his oldest, who had a strained relationship with his father, came by and said that this was really honorable of his dad. Maybe Queku was wrong. If it was okay with anoncy, he would start coming by his father's house. Too many years had passed, and he could see now that he played a role in that divide as well. Thanks, son. I'd like that. Anoncy said, the pair embraced. The town toasted anoncy and chanted his name in praise, which, though similar in volume

34:51and participation to the many times they chanted it in rage, this was vastly preferable. Hey, anoncy. The spider-man's wife asked him, do you know where three of our kids are? Maybe, anoncy said and walked over. Which three? She said that that's the thing. It changed every few hours. Which three were gone? It occurred with frightening regularity. Just then, three spider-boys entered the house with alarm, but stopped the next three from leaving. No need. It was over. I may know something about that. Let me see what this possibly unrelated message is about. If it's even a message, who knows, right? Anoncy chuckled and waved for the three spiders who just returned to step into his office. The four went to a corner of the hut, with several following, and the spider-boys reported,

35:55that the two were covered in wolf and leopard and wolf were free. It just happened. Wolf and leopard had been hanging for two days, with no one in the village wanting to help them because of their greed. They would die if they remained much longer, so they were calling out to anyone to help. White ant and his kids were walking by and knowing nothing of what transpired with the ant alope, they listened to the promises of leopard and wolf, who said they would provide a great feast for their rescuers. White ant and his kids went to work. They nod through the tree itself, and when the predators hit the ground, their ropes loosened. Rising, shaking and weak, they thanked White ant and his family and said, as they promised, they would throw a feast for the insects at noon in three days' time. Anoncy began to laugh, oh, oh, this was too good. No, his wife pointed. What? Anoncy said, you're scheming, I can see it on your face. If I'm scheming and I'm not saying that I am, I'm doing it for the children.

36:57How are they ever going to grow up strong if they don't have anything to eat? Anoncy pleaded, but his wife said absolutely not. Having them spy on wolf and leopard was bad enough, but now he was putting them in danger? Anoncy always did this. His pride would get wounded, and he would take things just a little too far. He already had the praise and adoration of the entire village for the first time in his life. What more did he need? Why keep pushing and pushing until everything collapsed, and people got hurt or hated him or both? Anoncy took a deep breath. She was right. Yeah, he was glad to have someone like her, someone who knew him, and could stop him from being the worst version of himself. He took her hand and kissed it. Thank you. Three days later, at 11am, Anoncy's wife looked around their empty house. Anoncy? Ugh, really? Anoncy and his sons got up and out of the house early that morning to go to a desolate

38:00spot in the woods, where Anoncy had prepared the ash and the white shirts and pants that he had well quickly barrowed prior to informing the merchants in a nearby town the previous day. They coated their skin, dressed, and presumably tucked a set of arms in their clothes to be the same as white ant in his ilk before leaving for the feast. And it was a feast, a grand one. Lepard and Wolf had spent three days hunting in order to show their appreciation for white ant in his family. A family they were surprised to see nearly an hour early. Looking at Anoncy and the kids, they said they remembered white ant looking different. You were upside down and starving. I'm surprised you could see anything at all, friend. Anoncy said. I'm sorry you were so early too. We just wanted to make sure we made it before… well, I'm not from around here, and I'm sorry if he's a friend of yours. But I hear of this one spider man. Anoncy? He's no friend of ours. Wolf and Lepard sneered.

39:01Well, I heard he had his children watching you as you starved, and they learned of the feast. I worried he would arrive and take everything. You would be none the wiser. Looks of intense hatred clouded Wolf and Lepard's faces. They thanked white ant for telling them, but nothing would stop them from enjoying the feast. Anoncy and his boys did enjoy the feast of that is and ate nearly everything that the grateful predators offered, leaving just before noon. Anoncy doubled back to watch and also gave his wife some time to cool down, maybe he'd actually sleep in the woods for a few days. White ant, the real white ant, and his family showed up as all the tables were being moved inside to a small room. Anoncy inched forward as, directing them inside, Wolf and Lepard explained that, well, a feast in the time of famine was, optics wise, dangerous. They had recently been publicly shamed for such a thing. White ant entered the burrow, and Wolf nodded to Lepard.

40:01Who went to a large pot of water on the fire? There was a slam of a door from inside, and Wolf laughed. Nice try, Anoncy, terrible disguise, by the way, you looked nothing like white ant. You've shamed us for the last time. Now you die. Lepard do it. Wolf's burrow was dug under what remained of a large dead tree, and in a gap in the roots, Lepard tipped the cauldron, boiling water poured in, and screams at goat out. Not for long. Soon all that came from the hole, which seemed to Anoncy to be quickly draining through the door and into Wolf's burrow, was silenced, and then weeping. Anoncy saw, not soon after, that it was white ant. He had somehow survived the torrent. Maybe he had been able to chew through the wood fast enough to avoid the bulk of it. Wolf tossed him out hard onto the ground, outside. There, all his children were dead.

41:01That would teach Anoncy to deceive them again. White ant wept that he didn't know who that was. Why? Why have they killed his children? Why have they tried to kill him? But Wolf and Lepard ignored white ant. In moments, his grief calcified into hatred. Not just for Wolf and Lepard, not only for whoever this Anoncy was, but everything. The whole world that would take his children away from him for only doing what was right. He declared that never again would he help man or beast. Instead, he and his children would damage and destroy all that belong to them. This is why white ants, or, as I have personally known them, termites, have been enemies of everyone, forever knowing at wood, homes, or any structures they can get. Anoncy's deception.

42:07In this story, Anoncy's like Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul. He won. He could have gotten away with sticking it to the people who insulted him with virtually no repercussions. But he just can't walk away. There's something inside him that won't let him go without that little extra flourish with a twist of the knife so that he can feel clever or soothe his insecurity or whatever. And then, next story, we will see the repercussions of a life like Anoncy's. And then, see if Anoncy can ever truly change. But that will, once again, be right after this. It's 5 p.m. Do you know what you are having for dinner? If you do, I envy you. I never know. When I'm in charge of dinner, it's either takeout, which is only so good for so long, or it's the world's worst episode of Chopped, where the dubious ingredients don't work together, and also the contestant, me, doesn't really know how to cook. 20 minutes on the countdown clock until someone gets angry. Starting now. If only there was a company who sent quality ingredients and easy recipes straight to

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44:11Not being active subscriber to receive free dessert. You know it's never been my skill set listening intently, but not just that. That would be super bad. But that combined with participating meaningfully in a conversation, taking notes and planning, next steps, basically meetings. I'm bad at meetings, especially when they're not in person. Either I'm feverishly clacking away on the keyboard or I won't remember anything later. The worst is when I email later about something that was absolutely covered in the meeting. Anyway, granola fixed that for me. Granola is an AI powered notepad that makes your meeting notes useful. It captures what happens in your meetings and turns them into clean, structured notes with decisions and action items pulled out and made easy to find. One of the best things about it integrates with how you already work. No setup, no configurations. It just works by capturing your system audio. I tried it out by just taking the loose as possible notes for the other podcast I'm collaborating with someone on. And it did it. It filled them out with helpful summaries and action items.

45:11Plus I could reference a transcript of the whole meeting after the fact. I had perfect notes and I could still be involved in the meeting. Once you try out in your first meeting, it's hard to go without. You can try it totally free. Head to granola.ai slash legends. That's granola.ai slash legends to get your time back. Go to granola.ai slash legends and try it on your next call. The two men felt bad for the old spider. He sat in front of his house. His land withering in front of him. A few from the village came to leave him food every once in a while. When he heard them, they only got curses in return. He never saw them though. He didn't see anything. Now really, living in a world of shadows, his wife had finally left him.

46:13It wasn't one of his schemes or his displays of callous selfishness. It was all of them. They built up over the years until there was nothing left between the man and wife, but bitterness and disdain. Some of his kids came around every once in a while to give him food or water, but none of them tolerated his acrimony over their supposed betrayal to remain very long. The two men, on their way to go fishing, saw a Nazi sitting there alone, muttering to himself. They were too young to remember some of his most famous exploits, but too old to not have sympathy on the lonely man. Looking at each other, they nodded and opened the gate. These vision may have faded with the years, but he could still hear the swing of his gate and the footsteps of the visitors. Walking stick pointed in their general direction, he shouted for them to stop. It didn't sound like his ungrateful kids to few legs, so whatever it was, he didn't want any, or he didn't do it.

47:13We pass you day by day on this road. One of the men said before an Nazi interrupted him, my road, which you don't have the right to, the fisherman kept going. They passed him every day, sitting there miserable. Who told you I was miserable? The man sighed, if it were him, sitting there alone, his only kin dreading coming around, he would be miserable. Why didn't a Nazi come fishing with them? Your fragile emotional state sounds like a U problem. A Nazi said, I'm fine. I love it. The wife getting mad at me, no kids needing stuff every day. I can sit here and enjoy the silence. Silence that you are currently ruining. But if you need me to go fishing with you, I suppose I can make time for it. One fisherman looked to the other with a smile. They both knew that a Nazi, with his intractable pride, would be a tough nut to crack. But they knew he was just lashing out to protect himself from being hurt.

48:14It would take time, but they'd get that old spider to soften. What are you doing? Take your hands off me. I can walk on my own. A Nazi said, his cane thudding on the dirt, as the three walked down the road to the shore. Six weeks later, as the two men helped to non-see into the boat, them being now his daily caretakers and companions, could see that when it came to working their way into that cold, withered spider heart. All it took was empathy and time. Way, way more time than six weeks. Probably more time than they had left on the surface, and maybe more time than the earth itself had left. The harsh, cold, and bitter exterior of a Nazi had given way, eventually, to a harsher,

49:17colder, and even more bitter interior. Despite their patience, or maybe because of it, a Nazi had only become meaner to them over the time they had been together. Each morning they led him from his hut, him spinning invectives at them, anytime his foot bumped a rock or root. Like, really specific and hurtful things that they had no idea how he knew. They would come up to the canoe and tell them to step in, and he would face their direction and ask if they thought he couldn't tell where the canoe was, he wasn't a baby, but that was for the best, because one of the men's babies was sick right now, so they didn't even know how to take care of a baby anyway. That man gritted his teeth. This is a Nazi still demanded help into the boat. They paddled out, a Nazi absolutely killing any conversation between the two friends. If they brought up anything, he'd find a way to hurl abuse at them about it, and then turn the conversation back to one of his horrible stories that usually involved some innocent person or animal dying, so he could get some trivial thing that he wanted.

50:18They'd show him where to throw his net. Oh, I know, I was just about to throw it there. They'd tell him when they were back to shore, must you be always talking, talking, talking, you think I don't know that we're on land? They'd tell him when it was safe to step out. Obviously, I was just about to step out, is that okay with you do I have your permission? One morning they tried to skip this house. He ran after them, berating them in their terrible memory and eyesight. Once they took the long way to the boat, the road that didn't go by his hut, they found him waiting by the canoe. From the stories, his and others, they knew not to underestimate him. And they began to grow afraid. Maybe a non-seed did need friendship, everyone did, but maybe a non-seed didn't know that. And if there was a common denominator in all a non-seed tales, it was that no matter how they started, they all became a non-seed tales. But the detriment and often danger of anyone else in the story.

51:21Sitting in the boat, one of the men helped a non-seed with a net of silver scales. All little baby, a non-seed chided, you think because you'd need help I do? Weakling. Still, they kept helping. Anonse might not be able to see as well as he once did, but he was fast. Soon the bottom of the boat was riding with the slow twitch of dying fish. It was time to go back. All a non-seed sat in the back, complaining about the sun being too hot and the wind being too cold, one man put a finger to his lips and then dipped the oar in the water hard, bringing the boat to an abrupt stop. Anonse cocked his head. One of the fisherman's mouth clicked as he took a breath about to speak. Oh my gosh, here, a non-seed throw your net and catch the fish. Here, a non-seed your net is full. Let's take it up. Anonse mocked them. Now, here, a non-seed, we're at the shore. Do you think I can't tell all these things? Do you know who I am? He scoffed, stood, and stepped from the canoe, directly out into the water.

52:26The lake muffled his cries. At least the first ones he barked in surprise when the water closed in over his head. By the time his head crested the waves, the men, who immediately started paddling, were back to shore and dragging the canoe. Would we help him? One man said to the other, anger having cooled, the other looked out at anonse, tritting water and yelling curses. Do you want to give that man that thing a helping hand right now? These eyes, he looks like he can swim well enough. The man said, he always knows where the shore is and where to get out of the boat. Let him find it. I'm done putting up with him. We'll talk to him tomorrow, either he stops the nonsense, or he stops coming with us. They scooped the fish up into their nets and headed back to the village. Anonse, seething, half-heard the boat scraped the rocks. But with the next wave, lost his bearings. Those men, those soft, worthless men.

53:27You don't trick a trickster. He knew he wasn't at the shore. He told himself it was a test. A test they failed. All it took was time for someone to reveal their true face. Like everyone else in his life, they were his enemies. And like all his enemies, they would pay. But first, he had to make it back to shore. Tritting water, he listened as best as he could, but it would be a guess. He swam for about 15 minutes straight. Longer than he had ever ridden in their plotting little boat. It wasn't the right direction. He stopped and turned, swimming again, but again. After far too long, he stopped. He dove, but couldn't feel the bottom. And then when his head broke the surface of the water, he swore. Now more turned around than ever, he could be swimming back in the direction he had just come. He bet those fishermen were on the shore, snickering at him. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of crying out.

54:30So for the next several hours, Anonse swam this way and that. He turned back and out again. He swam in endless water. The shore always in another direction. In the darkness of night, Anonse exhausted, dipped below the water and drowned soon after the end. His whole life, Anonse had never been able to find the shore, the figurative shore. He had climbed into the boats of others. Sometimes staying there for a long time, using them as he used nothing, his enemies, his wife, and then his children. He tricked and used everyone. Even the gods in some stories, because of everyone's pity, he never stayed in the water long enough to know that he was drowning.

55:30Still, he took and took until everyone saw him for what he was. All his friends became enemies because to him, it was never a friendship to begin with. Only a transaction, Anonse was determined to never be the one holding the bag. Most spiders are solitary creatures, but if you learn to be part of a community, accept kindness and be kind in return, you could have ridden the metaphorical boat to shore and lived. Instead, he died alone, destroyed by his own scorn and ingratitude. Fun note to end on. Another quick note, just to echo what I said at the top of the show, these are Anonse tales, but there's no real canonical Anonse. So while this is A death of Anonse, it's not the death of Anonse. We might come back to the story, so let me know. Next time, it's Dwarves. I wanted to do another episode on D-Drick of Burn in the Dwarf Lauren, but discovered that his grandpa's friend had a super fascinating, super weird life.

56:33Hey, do you like thousand year old legends retold in a comprehensive way for the modern day? I mean, you just kind of listen to a bunch, so I hope so. Well, this probably won't come as a surprise, but Mythos and Legends has a book coming out. It's a three book comprehensive retelling of the King Arthur legends, and the first comes out December 1st of this year. It takes a thousand years of Arthur's scholarship and adaptations throughout the Middle Ages, and weaves it into a tale where it all fits and makes sense. We're so excited, and I think you'll love it. If you'd like to help us and the podcast out, pre-ordering is so, so important. There are links to everything in the show notes. Thank you so much. The creature this time is the Succinoco, a chunky snake yokai from Japanese folklore. I'll be real, I do not see the appeal of this creature, especially because more than most, this creature has elicited a very strong positive response from people very recently.

57:36A backup. The central idea behind the Succinoco is, what if a snake was shaped like a beer bottle, and sometimes like to get drunk on sake. This isn't even a big snake, it's only between 30 and 80 centimeters, so one to three feet long, it's venomous, which is also not not worthy as far as snakes go. The main difference about it is that its body is thicker than its head or its tail. Who it is may not be that interesting, but what it does is, well, it's also not that interesting as far as creatures go, but anyway, like the hoop snake from the United States, it can bite its tail and use its body as a wheel. Gotta wonder how effective that means the transportation is. Sure, wheels are nice, but it's also then rolling on rocky terrain using its spine and organs as shock absorbers. What's the most interesting to me is that not only can it jump, depending on the source from 1 to 5 meters, but it can then jump again without touching the ground, essentially

58:36doing a double jump. They have eyelids so they can wink at you, I guess, and they snore. It calls out with a chi sound, and you can lure one to you with a smell of miso, dried squid, and burning hair. Ok, so back in the 80s in Japan, I guess there were a ton of sightings of this creature, in the Nara Prefecture. Rumor and fuzzy photos circulated, until a member of the Shimokite Yama Village Council decided to put some money on the line. Whoever brought in a living Suchi noko would get 1 million yen. Equivalent to about $7,500 US dollars, then, whoever brought in a skin sample would get 300,000 yen. Around 200 people participated in the Suchi noko expedition, but the decline of the Japanese economy in the early 90s meant that giving away money for pudgy snakes probably felt like less of a priority than in the boom times of the late 80s. The Suchi noko must have had an effect on creatives, though, because not only does this thing have its own TV tropes page, linked in the show notes, but it shows up by name

59:38in several anime. It's in many video games, you can eat one in the Metal Gear Solid series, and it apparently inspired the Pokémon Dunsparse, which is like the Suchi noko, with tiny wings in a drill tail, and it inspired the great serpent of Ranka in Final Fantasy XIV, which I haven't played. In most instances, the creature in games or fiction appears to be extremely rare, another instance of art imitating life. Apparently, the Nikkei 225 just beat its 1989 high two years ago, in February 2024. So here's hoping somebody takes the lead, and funds a new Suchi noko expedition. That's it for this time. Myths and Legends is by Jason and Curriso Weiser. Our theme song is by Broke for Free, and the creature of the week music is by Steve Combs. There are links to even more of the music we used in the show notes. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll see you next time.

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