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AGES 5-6 • 10 pages • about 3 min to read together
Kweku tries to hide Grandma Nana’s Pot of Stories in a tree, but a tiny gecko helps him learn that wisdom grows when it is shared.
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PAGE 1 OF 10
Grandma Nana kept a round clay pot on a low stool. “This is our Pot of Stories,” she told Kweku. “It reminds us that wisdom grows when we share it.”
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Kweku looked at the pot. It was warm brown clay with two small handles and a little sun spiral painted on the front. “If I keep it,” he whispered, “I will be the wisest boy in the village.”
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That night, while the moon shone over the roofs, Kweku tied a tan vine around the pot. He wanted to hide it high in the baobab tree where no one else could reach it.
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First, Kweku tied the pot to his tummy. He hugged it tightly and tried to climb. Bump! Scrape! Thump! The pot knocked against the tree trunk.
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Kweku huffed and puffed. His knees could not find the bark. His arms could not stretch around the big pot. He slipped back down to the ground.
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“Click-click,” said a tiny voice. A little gecko blinked from a branch. “Kweku, if all the wisdom is on your tummy, why can you not see the tree?”
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Kweku sat still. The gecko was right. He had tried to keep wisdom all to himself, but he needed help from a tiny friend.
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Kweku moved the pot onto his back. Now his tummy could touch the tree, and his hands and knees were free. He climbed three branches higher.
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From the branch, Kweku saw Grandma Nana’s hut and the village lights. He felt foolish. Wisdom was not something to hide in a tree.
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Kweku climbed down and placed the pot back on its stool. The next evening, he sat beside Grandma Nana and the gecko. “Please share a story,” he said. Grandma Nana smiled. “Now you are ready to learn.”
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 5–6
