Anansi's Bumping Pot
In this original retelling of an Akan folktale from Ghana, Anansi tries to keep wisdom for himself. A bumpy climb and his son's helpful idea teach him that wisdom belongs with everyone.
Play the quiz as a gameAnansi the spider wanted to be the wisest creature in the world. He collected wisdom, or good ideas about living, in a pot. He added a label with the heading My Wisdom.
“I will hide this high in a tree,” he said. “Then nobody else can use it.” He tied a cord around the pot and hung it in front of his belly.
Anansi began to climb. He tried tiny, tapping steps. But the dangling pot swung against the tree trunk. Bump! He could not get close enough to hold on well. “Up I go! Much too slow!” he sang.
He moved one foot, then another. Bump! The pot stopped him again. “Up I go! Much too slow!” Anansi sang once more. He had a pot full of wisdom, but he could not get it up a tree.
His son Ntikuma watched from below. “Why not hang the pot behind you?” he asked. Anansi moved the cord. Now the pot rested against his back, and his belly could reach the trunk. Up he went!
Then Anansi stopped. His son had given him a useful idea. Yet Ntikuma had not taken anything from the pot! Perhaps wisdom could not be packed away like beans in a sack.
Anansi climbed down and opened the pot. He shared his collection with everyone nearby. Soon, good ideas were passing from neighbor to neighbor. Anansi still loved a clever thought, but now he loved hearing someone else's, too.