Anansi and the Stories of the Sky God

10 pages · 3 min · ages 5+

Based on: West African Folk Tale (Akan)

Nyame lives high in the sky. He owns all the world's stories. Little Anansi wants to share them. He climbs a long, thin thread. Anansi looks very small and brave. The sky god looks down kindly. Nyame smiles at the tiny spider.

Nyame has a big, golden voice. 'Bring me three things,' Nyame says. He wants hornets, a python, and a leopard. These tasks seem very hard. Anansi feels a little bit nervous. But he nods his tiny head. He is ready for the challenge.

Anansi finds the busy hornets first. They are loud and very fast. Anansi carries a brown gourd bottle. He sprinkles water on his head. He sprinkles water on the nest. 'The rain is falling!' he cries. The hornets do not like rain.

'Come inside my dry house,' Anansi says. The hornets fly into the gourd. They want to stay nice and dry. Anansi plugs the hole with grass. He has caught the buzzing swarm. The hornets feel safe and cozy inside. Anansi carries the gourd away carefully.

Next, Anansi looks for the python. The snake is very, very long. Anansi brings a tall bamboo stick. He talks loudly to himself. 'Is this stick longer than Python?' The big snake hears Anansi's voice. The python wants to help Anansi.

'I am longer!' the python says. He lies down next to the stick. 'Stretch your tail,' says clever Anansi. Anansi ties the snake to the stick. He uses soft vines for rope. The python smiles for the measurement. He is happy to be so long.

Now Anansi must find the leopard. The leopard has many dark spots. Anansi makes a doll from wood. He covers the doll with sticky sap. The doll holds a bowl of yams. Anansi hides behind a large tree. He waits for the leopard to come.

The leopard wants the yummy yams. He taps the wooden doll's hand. His paw gets stuck to the sap. 'Let me go!' the leopard growls. He pushes with his other paw. Soon, the leopard is stuck fast. He is not hurt, just stuck.

Anansi brings his friends to Nyame. He shows the gourd and stick. He shows the sticky wooden doll. Nyame is very impressed with Anansi. The sky god laughs a happy laugh. He lets all the animals go free. They all run back to the forest.

Nyame gives the stories to Anansi. The stories fall like golden rain. Anansi goes back to the village. Children sit around a bright fire. Anansi tells a funny spider tale. Now stories belong to everyone. We call them spider stories today.