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AGES 11-13 • 12 pages • about 3 min to read together
Kweku sneaks into Adoma’s forest dwelling for a wish stone, is trapped by enchanted food, becomes smaller through a lesson spell, and chooses restoration and wisdom over treasure.
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Kweku Anansi heard a rumor about Adoma, a feared forest mystic who guarded a stone that could grant one wish. The story glittered in his mind until caution sounded smaller than curiosity.
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At dusk, Kweku followed a narrow path to Adoma’s dwelling, half-hidden by roots and blue fireflies. Through the doorway, he saw the wish stone glowing on a carved wooden table.
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The stone was smooth, black-violet, and veined with gold, resting in a bronze crescent stand. It pulsed like a quiet heart, promising anything Kweku could imagine.
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Beside it waited bowls of sweet plantain, spiced groundnuts, honey cakes, and steaming stew. Kweku meant to take only the stone, but his stomach argued louder than his wisdom.
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He tasted one honey cake. Then another. With every bite, his eyelids grew heavy and his feet felt rooted to the floor. The enchanted meal had caught him before his hands reached the stone.
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Adoma returned beneath a cloak of indigo cloth and moonlit beads. She found Kweku asleep beside the table and smiled sadly. “So the famous clever boy forgot to ask permission.”
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When Kweku woke, Adoma lifted her staff and let blue-violet light circle him. “A lesson should fit the mistake,” she said. “Greed made you small inside. Now feel its weight outside.”
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Kweku shrank into a frail, smaller version of himself, still wearing his scarf, tunic, shorts, and sandals. The wish stone gleamed nearby, but reaching for it no longer felt like victory.
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He stepped toward Adoma with trembling honesty. “I came to steal what was not mine,” he said. “I ate what was not offered. My cleverness became greed.”
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Adoma studied him for a long moment. Then she placed the wish stone between them. “Choose,” she said. “One wish for anything you want, or your own true form returned.”
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Kweku looked at the stone, then at his thin hands. He thought of all the times he had wanted more before learning enough. “I choose myself,” he said, “and the wisdom to ask first.”
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Adoma restored him and sent him home with no treasure except the lesson. From then on, Kweku still loved mysteries, but he learned that the brightest prize can be the one you refuse.
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
Anansi and the Bewitching Breeze →
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 11–13
