"The fisherman was very agreeable, very pleasant and very [i]wise[/i] to his friend Spider's ways, and only smiled at Anansi's suggestion. 'Then we shall certainly go fish together,' the fisherman said most amiably. 'I will make the nets, and you will get tired for me.'"

"Anansi thought for a moment," Antonia said, tapping her chin with her fingertip, her face screwed up comically as if deep in thought. "And then the Spider shook his head. Why [i]certainly[/i] it would not do, for such a lazy creature to allow himself to be tired out! 'Now wait just a moment friend,' Anansi said craftily, 'What do you say, that [i]I[/i] make the nets, and you get tired for me!'" 

Luc giggled as Antonia pantomimed the fisherman's oh-so-reluctant roll of his eyes, his long drawn out sigh as the fisherman acquiesced to the clever Anansi's demand. "'As you will, friend Anansi, as you will,' said the fisherman as he curled up against a tree, napping as he pretended to be so tired while Anansi made the nets.'"

The rogue slid from her seat, wrapping herself about the legs of Luc's chair on the floor of the First Mate's quarters, her eyes closed tightly as she snored loudly. But in an instant, Antonia leapt to her feet right before the boy, her laughing grey eyes wide as she peered inches from Luc's wide-eyed face! 

"'Wake friend fisherman, wake!'" The rogue was rewarded with a spate of bright children's laughter as she grabbed at Luc's knees, tickling him as he thrashed about, near to toppling off [i]Mademoiselle[/i] Beauchamp's chair as he giggled and swatted at Antonia's hands. "Anansi finished the nets and, when his fisherman friend woke from his nap, off to the riverbank they went! And they caught not one, not two or three, but four lovely grand fish!"

"But the fisherman shook his head, deep in thought as he looked to their tasty fresh catch. 'Friend Anansi,' he said, 'Go on. You take these fish. I will take tomorrow's catch - why, it might be bigger!'"

"Now Anansi was positively incensed at his friend's greed! [i]Especially[/i] when Anansi's own greedy imagination could see just how large the next day's catch would be! 'Now that doesn't sound so fair, friend fisherman! I simply must insist; tomorrow's catch will be mine and [i]you[/i] take these four tonight.'"

Antonia hung her head low, as if she had just been bested by a far greater, far cleverer adversary as she looked up with the eyes of that beleaguered fisherman. "'As you will, friend Anansi. As you will. If you [i]insist,[/i] I will take these fish tonight, and tomorrow's catch will be yours... ' Anansi was, as you might imagine, [i]very[/i] pleased with himself and his cleverness."

"Yet the following day, when Anansi and the fisherman went fishing? Why, there was not a single fish to be caught, and the nets were rotting at that!"

"'Friend Anansi,' said the fisherman, obviously concerned that the Spider had gotten nothing for all his troubles in two days. 'You take these nets to the market and sell them. Surely they will fetch a goodly amount of coin to line your pocket!'"

"Anansi agreed that this was a [i]fine[/i] idea, and tromped off to the market with the rotten nets to sell." Antonia tromped all about Luc in his chair, the heels of her hobnail boots making a fine lot of noise on the floorboards as she pretended to heft those heavy nets over her shoulder. "But all Anansi got for those troubles was a beating by the villagers, for trying to sell them rotten nets!"

"Anansi limped back to his friend, cross and fuming. 'Friend fisherman, you have not been such a good friend to me today! I have taken the beating - the [i]least[/i] you could have done, was take the pain!'" Antonia waggled her finger mightily in Luc's face, scowling so furiously that Luc simply could not help but another stream of giggles.

"And [i]that[/i] is when the fisherman looked up to Anansi from beneath the brim of his great straw hat." The rogue's scowl disappeared in an instant, her lovely face smoothing to a wide, and knowing, and oh-so-clever smile. "Anansi suddenly saw the fisherman's grin, and he knew he'd been bested. And being a good-natured trickster, he knew well he'd been had by one of the very best - and the Spider laughed. He had no fish, no nets, and was aching and sore from a very thorough beating at that!"

"But Anansi[i] did[/i] have a story, and now my own dear friend, we have come to the end of it!" Antonia lightly tapped the tip of Luc's nose with the very point of her finger, her wide grin full of laughter.