A long time ago, Anansi the spider used to live in Africa, but along with the slaves he moved to Surinam and the Antilles. Not so long ago he moved to the Netherlands, and he decided to go and live under the roof of a Dutch windmill near the centre of Utrecht.

Anansi was a little lazy by nature, so most of the time he had nothing to eat and no money at all. However, if you want to live in the Netherlands, you need to have a lot of money. Being an African spider, he did not care much for money, but thanks to his cleverness he was always able to survive.

One day, Anansi went to the hunter and said: "Hunter, my wife is ill, and I can't afford to buy the proper medicine. Would you lend me a hundred guilders? [1] I will pay you back in three months."

Next, Anansi went to the tiger. "Tiger, my dear, dear tiger! My wife and all of my children are ill. Can't you lend me a hundred guilders for a while? I will pay you back in three months."

Then Anansi went to the rooster. "My dear, dear, dear, dear rooster. My wife and my children turned terribly ill. I can't afford to pay for their medicine any more. I have been thrown out of the national health insurance [2] because I failed to pay my premium. Please, give me a hundred guilders, and you'll get it back in three months."

Finally, he went to pay a visit to the beetle and asked him to lend a hundred guilders for his sick family as well.

Indeed, after three months, it looked like Anansi was going to payoff his debts.

He went to the beetle first. "Come to my place at four O' clock this afternoon, and I will pay you back the hundred guilders I borrowed from you."

Then he visited the rooster. "Come to my house at a little past four O' clock this afternoon, and I'll pay you back your hundred guilders."

Next, he went to the tiger. "Come to my place at a quarter past four, because I still owe you a hundred guilders."

Finally, he went to the hunter. "I still owe you a hundred guilders. Come to my place at – let's say – twenty past four, and I will pay you back."

Before his guests arrived, he put a large washtub full of water under a tree, next to the windmill.

Exactly at four O'clock the beetle arrived. "My dear beetle. Come and have a seat. Yes, I want to thank you very much for lending me those hundred guilders. I was in such dire need. My entire ... family was .... Gee, what a coincidence: here comes the rooster."

"The rooster?!"

"Uh, you can hide behind the door."

The beetle hid behind the door.

"Ah, my dear rooster. Come sit for a while. Yes, I really need to thank you for the hundred guilders you lent me. You know, my family was so incredibly ill, we were so poor and without that hundred guilders of yours .... Well, what do you know! What a coincidence. Look over there; here comes the tiger."

"The tiger?!"

"You better hide behind the door."

The rooster hid behind the door, saw the beetle, and "peck," he swallowed him down at once.

"My dear, dear tiger. I am so pleased that you are here, because I want to wholeheartedly thank you again for the hundred guilders you lent me three months ago. Please, have a seat."

"No, I don't want to. I want my money."

"Oh, alright then, uh .... I'll get it for you. Meanwhile, I have a little present for you, behind the door. Go and have a look, while I get the money."

Anansi went up into the windmill. The tiger looked behind the door and saw a fat, juicy rooster sitting over there. So he opened his mouth real wide and swallowed the rooster in one bite.

Just as Anansi wanted to give the tiger his money back, he looked out with surprise and said to the tiger: "Well, look over there! Here comes the hunter."

"The hunter?!"

"Quick, tiger, climb in that tree."

The tiger climbed the tree and reached the top in one huge leap.

Meanwhile, Anansi offered the hunter a chair. "Yes, I wanted to express my gratitude again for the hundred guilders you .... Oh dear, hunter, what incredibly dirty feet you have! Why don't you go wash them? Under the tree over there, you'll find a washtub full of water."

The hunter walked to the washtub, and just as he was about to put his feet into the water, he noticed the reflection of the tiger. He went for his rifle and shot the tiger out of the tree. Bang!!

Anansi, who had gone inside to get the money, came running out again after hearing the gunshot.

"What did you do? That was the king's tiger! He was staying at my place to learn the Dutch language. If I tell the king that you shot his tiger, you'll be put in prison."

"Please, Anansi, don't tell the king. Uh .... I will give you a hundred guilders and then uh .... We'll think of something."

"Well, alright then," Anansi said, "I'll tell the king that the tiger passed away during his lessons, and that I have already buried him."

The grateful hunter paid Anansi a hundred guilders and he was even prepared to dig a grave.

When the hole was deep enough, Anansi said: "You know what? Just go home now. I will put the corpse in later and fill up the grave for you."

As soon as the hunter had left, Anansi took his knife and skinned the tiger. The leftovers went into the grave and he filled the hole very nicely. Problem solved. That is to say .... Anansi got rid of his debts, received a hundred guilders extra, and from the hide of the tiger he could make a fur coat for the winter. A real nice coat ....