Sleepy Fox Hollow as i went down in the river to pray

You should never hurt others for no reason was a good life lesson to live by, and one that Anansi agreed with. At the same time, he had reason to believe that sometimes, psychological warfare was necessary to maintain order. Did that count as hurting someone for no reason? Even if they didn't know you were hurting them? He would probably try to reason that it didn't count, but surely ena and Sakhmet would feel differently.

So he sought another angle with which to approach his query, one that was perhaps softer in nature than simply saying, can't we just trick everyone into thinking we're the best? He didn't think it was cowardly the way utilizing fear was cowardly, but no one ever said he wasn't a hypocrite. What if the danger comes from within your family, or from those who serve your family, or someone you love? What if they don't hurt you first but you think they could?

It was no great secret, at least among his family, that Anansi thought better of Melonii than others.