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A long time ago, every story in the world belonged to the sky god. He called them all "sky god stories." But one day, the sky god decided to sell his stories. His asking price was high: the buyer must produce a python, a lion, bees, and a fairy. All the creatures were required to be brought to the sky god alive.
 The sky god announced the sale, but no one in the village showed much interest. Most people assumed the sale was a trick, and the sky god had no intention of actually parting with his beloved stories.
When Anansi the spider heard about the sale, he was determined to buy the stories. First, he took a rope and a long bamboo pole to the place where a python dwelled. Then Anansi and his son, Ntikuma, began a heated argument about the length of the python in comparison to the pole. Before long, the python slithered over and asked what the problem was.
"We're arguing about which is longer: a python or a pole," Anansi explained. "Will you please settle our argument? Can I tie you to this pole to compare your lengths?"
"Of course," the python agreed, and allowed himself to be tied. Anansi promptly carried him off to the sky god.
 Next, Anansi and Ntikuma took a big bag to the place where a lion lived. They began arguing loudly about whether the lion would be too fat to fit inside the bag. The lion soon emerged, looking annoyed.
"Can you please lower your voices?" the lion asked. "You're disturbing the animals with your arguing."
"I'm so sorry," Anansi said. "My son is incredibly rude. Would you please help me teach him a lesson by getting into this bag? My son swears you're too fat to fit in it."
The lion, longing for some peace and quiet, climbed into the bag. Anansi hauled him off to the sky god.
 To catch bees, Anansi and Ntikuma took a pot with a cover to the tree where the hive was. Ntikuma climbed the tree and poured a bucket of water over the hive. The bees, who hate rain, gladly accepted Anansi's offer to take shelter in his pot. As soon as the bees had entered the pot, Anansi covered it and took it to the sky god.
Now came the last task—the fairy. Anansi prepared a special meal of boiled eggs and mashed yam, which he knew to be the favorite meal of fairies. Anansi then made a statue out of gum and placed the food in the statue's sticky hands. Soon, a fairy arrived and feasted on the meal. But when it tried to fly away, the fairy found itself stuck. Anansi and Ntikuma delivered it to the sky god.
The sky god was very impressed. He called together everyone in the village. "Anansi is smarter than all of you," said the sky god. "I hereby give him all the stories to keep forever."
And since that time, all the stories have been known as "Anansi stories."
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