AGES 0-4 • 13 pages • about 3 min to read together

Kweku Anansi tries to cheer up a crying baby goat with a funny face and a dancing leaf hat, but the hungry little goat has other ideas.

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Kweku Anansi stands beside a wooden goat pen in a sunny village.

PAGE 1 OF 13

It was a warm afternoon in the village. Kweku Anansi stood by the goat pen. He was a clever boy who loved to help.

A small baby goat named Nub cries loudly inside the goat pen while Kweku watches.

PAGE 2 OF 13

Inside the pen, a baby goat named Nub was crying. “Maaaaa! Maaaaa!” Nub was small, but his voice was very big.

Mother goat Yaa gently nuzzles crying baby Nub inside the pen.

PAGE 3 OF 13

His mother, Yaa, nudged him gently with her nose. “There, there,” she seemed to say. But Nub kept crying. “Maaaaa! Maaaaa!”

Efua joins Kweku at the fence and looks toward the crying baby goat.

PAGE 4 OF 13

Kweku’s older sister, Efua, walked to the fence. “That baby goat is very noisy, Kweku,” she said. “Can you help him feel better?”

Kweku makes a funny face to cheer the baby goat while Efua watches.

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Kweku smiled his clever smile. “I have an idea, Efua!” He stepped close to the pen and made a very funny face.

Kweku pulls his ears and puffs his cheeks while Nub stares in surprise.

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Kweku pulled his ears. He puffed his cheeks. Wiggle, wiggle! Nub stopped crying and stared with big, round eyes.

Kweku finds a large green leaf near the goat pen.

PAGE 7 OF 13

Then Kweku found a big green leaf on the ground. It was soft. It was floppy. It went flap, flap in the breeze.

Kweku balances a green leaf on his head like a dancing hat.

PAGE 8 OF 13

“Watch this, Nub!” Kweku whispered. He put the leaf on his head and wiggled his hair. The leaf danced like a little hat.

Nub stares hungrily at the green leaf hat on Kweku's head.

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Nub did not cry. Nub did not blink. He looked at the dancing leaf hat and thought, “That looks yummy!”

Nub jumps toward the leaf hat while Kweku reacts in surprise.

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Nub jumped forward. Snap! He tried to nibble the leaf. Kweku’s eyes went wide. “Hey! That is my hat, not your lunch!”

Kweku tiptoes backward as Nub playfully chases him around the pen.

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Kweku danced backward on his tippy-toes. Nub hopped after him. Clip-clop, clip-clop! Around the pen they went.

Nub returns calmly to his mother Yaa and receives a gentle nuzzle.

PAGE 12 OF 13

At last, Nub trotted back to his mother. He was quiet now. Yaa gave him a gentle nuzzle.

Kweku and Efua laugh together while Nub rests quietly near his mother.

PAGE 13 OF 13

Kweku ran back to Efua and laughed. “Well, he stopped crying! But next time, I will wear a hat that goats do not eat!”

Talk about it together

What was your favourite part of the story?
What do you think Anansi learned?
What would you have done differently?

ABOUT THIS TALE

Anansi (Kwaku Ananse) is the clever spider of Ashanti folklore from Ghana. These tales were told aloud for generations and travelled the world with the Akan people. This is an original retelling that keeps the wit and warmth of the tradition alive for young readers.