The Story#
A long, long time ago, in African mythology, there was a trickster named Anansi.
He was a spider, but he was very smart.
Anansi wanted to get all the wisdom in the world.
He went to the sky god.
“I want all the wisdom!” Anansi said.
The sky god said: “You can have it, but you must carry it on your back.”
Anansi agreed.
He went home and put the wisdom in a basket.
“Whoosh!”
He tied the basket to his back.
But the basket was very heavy!
Anansi tried to walk, but he couldn’t.
He asked his son to help.
“Carry the basket for me!” Anansi said.
His son carried it easily.
Anansi was jealous.
He made a plan.
He said: “Let’s play a game of tag.”
Anansi ran away.
His son chased him.
Anansi jumped into a tree.
His son couldn’t reach him.
Anansi laughed: “Ha! Ha! I won!”
But the wisdom fell out of the basket!
Anansi was sad. He lost all the wisdom.
Little friends, Anansi was clever but greedy.
This story teaches us to be happy with what we have.
What the Story Teaches Us#
Anansi tried to carry all the wisdom but couldn’t. This story teaches us to be content with what we have and not be greedy.