As the sun sets on a plantation in Jamaica, children flock to Mr. Kwaku for a story.
牙买加种植园的日落时分,一群孩子围在夸库先生身边听他讲故事。
They all know he's full of tales from Ghana, the land of their ancestors.
孩子们的祖先来自加纳,而夸库知道那里的许多故事。
But what they don't know, Kwaku winks, is how their ancestors got those stories in the first place.
夸库眨了眼,但孩子们不知道他们的祖先们是如何得到这些故事的。
Long ago, all stories belonged to Nyame, the all-seeing Sky God.
很久以前,所有故事属于天空之神尼亚美。
People on Earth were bored and knew nothing about their history. But one creature decided enough was enough.
地球上的人们觉得无趣,他们对自己的历史一无所知。但有一个生物想要改变这一切。
Anansi, the tricky, shapeshifting spider, resolved to bring the stories down to Earth.
一只狡猾、会变形的蜘蛛阿南西,想把这些故事带给人们。
He spun a web that stretched into the clouds and climbed up to confront the Sky God.
他织了一张伸进云层的网,与天空之神对峙。
Crouching at Nyame's feet, Anansi shouted at the top of his lungs that he had come to take ownership of the world's stories.
阿南西对尼亚美大声喊道,自己要抢走世界上所有的故事。
Looking down from his golden stool, Nyame hooted with laughter at the spider's absurd request.
尼亚美从金色的王座往下看,对蜘蛛荒谬的要求哈哈大笑。
Nyame told Anansi that he could have all the stories he wished -- but only if he could complete an impossible task.
尼亚美告诉阿南西,想要得到所有的故事就必须完成一项不可能完成的任务。
If Anansi brought him Osebo the Leopard, Onini the Python, Mmoboro the Hornet, and Mmoatia the Forest Spirit, then he could take the stories.
如果阿南西给他带来了豹子Osebo、蟒蛇Onini、大黄蜂Mmoboro和森林精灵Mmoatia,他就可以把故事带走。
Anansi humbly accepted. Nyame didn't see him grinning as he scuttled away.
阿南西谦虚地接受了挑战。尼亚美没有看到阿南西离开时的笑容。
Back on Earth, Anansi grabbed his magic bag and set to work. Anansi found Onini the Python bathing in the sun.
回到地球上,阿南西拿上魔法包开始工作。他先找到了正在晒太阳的蟒蛇Onini。
Anansi scoffed that Onini couldn't be the longest animal, saying he looked no longer than a piece of bamboo cane.
阿南西挑衅Onini,说他不可能是世界上最长的动物,说他比一根竹竿还短。
Enraged, Onini stretched himself across the bamboo to prove his lengthiness.
愤怒之下,Onini在竹子上把身体伸直,来证明自己的长度。
Anansi quickly bound him tight-tight to each end and placed him in his bag.
阿南西乘机紧紧地绑住他,然后把Onini放进包里。
Next, Anansi dug a great pit in the middle of the path Osebo the Leopard usually prowled, and covered it with banana leaves.
接着,阿南西在豹子Osebo会经过的路中间挖了个大坑,并用香蕉叶覆盖住。
Sure enough, mighty Osebo soon fell in. Anansi scolded Osebo for his carelessness, but offered to rescue him.
果不其然,强大的Osebo很快就掉进了洞里。阿南西责备了粗心大意的Osebo,但表示自己愿意救他出来。
As he helped Osebo out of the pit, Anansi swiftly jabbed him with his knife.
当他帮助Osebo爬出来时,阿南西迅速用刀捅了他。
Osebo fell back to the ground where Anansi wound him up tight-tight in spider thread.
Osebo掉回洞里,被阿南西用蜘蛛丝紧紧裹住。
Then, Anansi heard Mmoboro and his hornets buzzing. He cautiously approached them.
然后,阿南西听到Mmoboro和黄蜂们的声音。他小心翼翼地走近他们。
This would be tricky -- their stings could make someone swell up and die -- but Anansi knew they hated rain.
这很不容易,黄蜂的刺带有剧毒可能致命,但阿南西知道他们讨厌雨水。
He filled his mouth with water and spat it at the swarm.
他往嘴里灌满水,朝蜂群吐去。
As they panicked, Anansi urged the hornets to shelter in his gourd, where they found themselves trapped.
黄蜂们惊慌失措的躲进阿南西的葫芦里,被困在里面。
Anansi had one more task: to capture Mmoatia the elusive and mischievous Forest Spirit.
阿南西的最后一项任务是捕捉难以捉摸且顽皮的森林精灵Mmoatia。
She usually hid herself deep in the woods, but Anansi knew she was lonely.
她通常躲在树林深处,但阿南西知道她很孤独。
So, he made a little doll covered in sap and left it in her path.
于是,他做了一个娃娃,用树液覆盖后留在路中。
When she came upon it, Mmoatia spoke to the doll but became enraged when it didn't answer.
Mmoatia上前来与娃娃说话,因为娃娃没有回答而生气。
She hit the disrespectful doll and her small fists stuck to its sticky surface.
她挥起拳头砸向娃娃,却把手黏在了娃娃粘糊糊的表面。
Anansi wrapped Mmoatia up tight-tight and scooped her into his bag along with the other creatures.
阿南西把Mmoatia裹紧,与其他生物一起丢进了他的包里。
Triumphantly, he climbed his web back into the clouds.
他得意洋洋地回到云端。
When the Sky God saw that Anansi had completed the impossible task, he was amazed.
当天空之神看到阿南西完成了这项棘手的任务时,他惊讶不已。
Nyame told Anansi that he had earned the world's stories.
尼亚美告诉阿南西他赢得了全世界的故事。
Dancing for joy, Anansi gathered them up, stuffed the stories into his bag, and descended to Earth.
阿南西高兴地把故事收起来,塞进包里,然后回到地上。
There, he scattered the stories throughout the world for people to share. And they did, Kwaku tells the children.
他把故事散布到世界各地,供人们分享。而夸库告诉孩子们,人们成功地分享了这些故事。
Generations have continued telling and reimagining Anansi's stories even after being stolen from Africa and enslaved.
后人们仍在讲述阿南西的故事,即使因被奴役而离开非洲。
Anansi may be small, but "cunning's better than strong," Kwaku says, and tells the children to take Anansi's stories with them wherever they go.
夸库说,阿南西虽然小,但“狡猾总比强壮好”,并告诉孩子们无论走到哪里,都要带上阿南西的故事。
Looking at his audience, Kwaku knows that Anansi will persist as a symbol of resourcefulness and resistance in the face of oppression,
看着他的听众,夸库知道阿南西将作为一个足智多谋、反抗压迫的象征,
and a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.
以及故事持久力量的证明活下去。