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AGES 0-4 • 10 pages • about 4 min to read together
Kweku Anansi tries to catch a tiny green grasshopper with a clever basket trick, but the little jumper lands on his head instead.
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PAGE 1 OF 10
Kweku Anansi was a very clever boy. He lived in a sunny village with big green trees. Today, Kweku was playing in the cassava field. The big leaves went swish, swish in the wind. Kweku loved to play tricks and find surprises.
PAGE 2 OF 10
Suddenly, Kweku saw something bright and green. It was a tiny grasshopper! The grasshopper had long legs and very big eyes. Zip! It moved from one leaf to another. “I am going to catch you, little jumper,” Kweku whispered.
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Kweku’s older sister, Nala, was watching from the edge of the field. Tano the Mouse was sitting on her shoulder. They both wanted to see what the clever Kweku would do. Nala smiled because she knew Kweku always had a plan.
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Kweku held his small, woven basket. “I have a trick,” he said to himself. He didn’t want to chase the grasshopper. Chasing was too much work! Instead, he would make the grasshopper hop right into his hands.
PAGE 5 OF 10
Kweku slowly placed the basket on the ground. He put it right in front of the green grasshopper. “Now,” Kweku said softly, “all you have to do is take one big hop. One big hop into my basket!”
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Kweku stayed very, very still. He didn’t move a finger. He didn’t move a toe. Even Tano the Mouse stayed quiet. They waited and waited. The field was very peaceful. Shhh…
PAGE 7 OF 10
The grasshopper gave its long legs a stretch. It looked at the basket. Then, it looked at Kweku. Boing! The grasshopper did not hop into the basket. It hopped high, high up into the air!
PAGE 8 OF 10
Plop! The grasshopper landed. But it didn’t land on the grass, and it didn’t land on a leaf. It landed right on the very top of Kweku Anansi’s head! Kweku froze like a statue. He didn’t know what to do.
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Nala saw the grasshopper on Kweku’s head and let out a big laugh. “Haha! Kweku, your trick worked, but not the way you planned!” she cried. Kweku looked so funny with his green “hat” that even the cassava leaves seemed to giggle.
PAGE 10 OF 10
The grasshopper took one more big jump and disappeared into the green field. Kweku rubbed his head and laughed too. “I guess that little jumper is just as clever as I am,” he said. “Maybe even a little bit faster!”
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.
More Anansi stories
Explore more Anansi
- Who is Anansi? — meet the clever trickster spider of Ghana.
- See Anansi in 360° — his spider and human forms.
- More free stories for ages 0–4
