into Africa

I know I've been on a posting blitz today, and I apologize, I'll try to keep up a little better. I've got two more posts to go before I'm completely caught up, but probably won't get to those tonight. Please bear with me and keep on reading for several other posts I put up today.

This week we started our cultural block on West Africa, beginning with a couple of weeks of Trickster Tales, which in this case mostly revolve around Ananse the Spider, that clever little West African trickster! The boys just adore these stories, so we're having a super-fun week around here!

We started with "Ananse Turns Tiger Into a Horse." Zoo Boy's story drawing is above -- he chose to draw the scene where Snake and Ananse are arguing about who is braver, and Ananse brags that he's so brave, he rides Tiger like a horse.


Snake of course knows Ananse is lying, so he tells Tiger about it, and Tiger confronts Ananse, insisting that he go to King Lion with him and admit he was lying. J drew this scene. Ananse fakes illness and Tiger says that he will take him to see King Lion if he has to carry him there, which Ananse agrees to if Tiger could only find a saddle so his weak legs could hold on, and then if only Tiger could find a bridle so he could hold himself aboard the saddle, and then if only Tiger could find a whip so Ananse could keep the flies off of himself on the way.

Here's my drawing, of the final scene -- Ananse riding Tiger like a horse outside of King Lion's house, proving that he was telling the truth.