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AGES 7-8 • 12 pages • about 3 min to read together
Kweku tries to fool a magical tree into giving him fruit, then discovers that true generosity begins by noticing and helping those in real need.
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PAGE 1 OF 12
At the edge of Kweku Anansi’s village stood a wonderful old tree. Its trunk was wide, its leaves were bright, and its branches bent like kind arms over the path. Everyone called it the Tree of Generosity.
PAGE 2 OF 12
The elders said the tree gave fruit only to someone who truly needed help—someone hungry, sorrowful, or hurt in the heart. It never answered greed.
PAGE 3 OF 12
Kweku felt his curiosity wake. “A tree that gives magic fruit?” he said. “That is a tree worth visiting.” The next morning, he hurried toward the village edge.
PAGE 4 OF 12
The tree stood quietly in the morning sun. Kweku looked up and searched every branch, but not one fruit hung among the leaves.
PAGE 5 OF 12
Kweku rubbed his belly and made his saddest face. “Oh, Tree, I am so hungry and unhappy. Surely I need one of your fruits.” The leaves rustled, but nothing appeared.
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He returned the next day with louder sighs, pretend tears, and wobbly knees. Still, the branches stayed empty. The tree could not be fooled by a sad face.
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On the third day, Kweku heard a tiny sound above him. A small bird with a hurt wing rested on a branch. It was tired, hungry, and too sore to fly far.
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Kweku forgot his pretending. The tree glowed, and one golden fruit grew among the leaves, round and bright as the morning sun. It dropped gently toward the bird.
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The bird tasted the fruit. Its wing straightened, its feathers shone, and it flew into the sky with a clear, happy song. Kweku watched in astonishment.
PAGE 10 OF 12
Wise old Tortoise passed along the path. “The tree does not measure loud crying,” he told Kweku. “It listens for true need.” Kweku admitted that he had wanted the fruit for himself.
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The next day, Kweku carried an elder’s basket, brought water to a tired farmer, and guided a hungry child into the tree’s cool shade. He began to notice what people truly needed.
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At sunset, Kweku understood that generosity was not a trick to win but a gift to share. He became a helper at the village edge, listening beneath the rustling tree with a wiser heart.
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 Sefu’s Hidden Spring →
Anansi and Allo’s Secret Well →
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 7–8
