Spider Tries To Brush The Devil's Farm

This tale has been adapted from the original for readability:

One day Spider travelled to a strange land. When he arrived, he went straight to the king, who owned the country. When it came time to clear land for a farm, Spider asked the king for a piece of ground that nobody had ever dared to clear. People said a great devil had claimed it, and no one would even go near. But Spider wanted that very place and said he meant to clear it. The king warned him, “Anyone who clears that land will never bring the rice to town, and won’t even get to eat it.” Spider said, “I will eat it. I’ll clear it and I’ll eat the rice.” The king shrugged and told him to try.

Spider took his cutlass and went early in the morning to start clearing before the sun grew hot. He had only chopped at a stick when a voice called out, “Who chopped that stick?” Spider said it was him. The devil answered, “By tomorrow you’ll find I’ve cleared all this bush for you.” It told Spider not to bother, because it would do the work instead. Spider went off to drink water at the farm house, and when he came back the bush was already cleared. He ran to the king and said, “I’ve finished clearing the farm you gave me.” The king simply said, “All right.”

In less than a week the ground was dry enough to burn. The next day, when the sun was high, Spider went out, set fire to the field, and shouted loudly so the devil would hear. The same voice called, “Who is burning the farm?” Spider said it was him, and the devil replied, “Go and sit down. I’ll burn it for you right now.” When Spider looked again, the whole field was burned clean. He went back to the king and said, “I’ve burned my farm.” Again the king said, “All right.” Spider told him, “Buy rice for me,” and the king gave him a few hampers.

Spider made himself a hoe, a long one, and early the next morning he carried the rice to the farm before day fully broke. He set down his basket, dipped his hand into the rice, and scattered it across the ground. At once the voice asked, “Who is scattering the rice?” It said, “You don’t need to trouble yourself. I’ll scatter the rice for you now.” Spider could not see anyone, only the work being done and the voice speaking. In a little while the rice lay all over the ground. Spider took his hoe and started scraping soil over it, making sure the devil could hear. The voice called again, “Who is digging the ground to cover the rice?” It said, “Go home. Tomorrow morning you’ll find I’ve finished the whole place.”

Spider went to the king and said, “I’ve finished planting my rice.” The king said, “All right.” But when Spider went back to the farm, the rice had already grown tall, and weeds were coming up among it. Spider pulled at one clump of grass hard, again so the devil would hear, and the voice asked, “Who is pulling the grass?” It said, “Before evening you’ll find I’ve pulled it all.” Spider went back to the farm house and sat down. By evening he returned and found the farm spotless. The rice looked fine.

When the rice began to head, birds came to eat it. Spider shouted at them and they flew up, and immediately the voice asked, “Who is driving away the birds?” It said, “You don’t need to chase them. I’ll drive them off for you.” After that the devil drove the birds away every day until the rice was ripe for cutting.

On the first day of harvest Spider cut only a little, just enough for a meal. He dried it, pounded it, and put a big pot of rice on the fire to cook. While it was cooking he went out, caught meat, and made a stew. When the stew was done he washed up and went to lift the pot of rice, but the pot jumped away from him and ran. Spider chased it until he was exhausted, and when he stopped, the pot stopped too. Each time he rushed towards it, it ran again, until at last Spider gave up and went back to the farm house. After a while the empty pot came back by itself and stood there. Spider did not know what to do. He was hungry and miserable, but he told himself he would think of something by evening.

That evening he cooked rice again. This time he grabbed the pot before it was fully ready, strapped it tight to his head with rags, and set off at a run towards town. The rice was boiling while he ran. Just as he was nearing town, the pot slipped free, dropped down, and ran off again. Spider chased it until he could not go on. Later the empty pot turned up once more. With no rice to eat, Spider had to make do with young cassava.

The next day it happened again, and again, until Spider finally abandoned the farm and went home. The king asked him, “Spider, how is it going? Was what I told you just a story?” Spider answered, “No, it was true, but never mind.” The king asked, “Have you cut all the rice?” Spider said, “Yes, I’ve cut it all, and it’s piled on top of the farm house.” The king said, “You see, stubbornness is no good. You worked for nothing.” And Spider, because he would not listen, found himself in trouble from start to finish.