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AGES 9-10 • 12 pages • about 5 min to read together
During a long dry season, Kweku enters the guarded Cave of Echoes for golden corn, then chooses to plant its seeds so the whole village can eat tomorrow.
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PAGE 1 OF 12
The dry season lasted too long. The streams shrank into silver threads. The yam mounds cracked. Even the mango trees held their leaves close, as if saving every drop of green.
PAGE 2 OF 12
In Kweku Anansi’s village, bowls grew lighter each day. Monkey searched the trees. Antelope searched the grassland. Mouse searched under roots. Lion called everyone together beneath the old silk-cotton tree.
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“Nyame once hid a golden ear of corn in the Cave of Echoes,” Lion said. “One ear that could save us. But the cave is guarded, and its paths twist like questions.”
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The animals murmured. The Cave of Echoes stood beyond the dry riverbed. Two stone-faced guardians watched its mouth: Hornback, with curved horns and heavy hooves, and Feather-Eye, with bright feathers and a gaze sharp as sunrise.
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Kweku rubbed his chin. “If one ear of corn can feed us today,” he said, “perhaps its seeds can feed us tomorrow.”
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Before dawn, Kweku packed a small pouch, a calabash of water, and strips of golden raffia. He did not weave webs. He tied simple trail markers, bright enough to guide him home.
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At the cave mouth, Hornback stamped. Feather-Eye lowered its shining head. Kweku bowed politely, then tossed a raffia tassel toward a hollow log. The tassel rustled in the wind. Hornback turned. Feather-Eye blinked.
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While the guardians studied the sound, Kweku slipped into the cave. Inside, the air was cool and blue. Every footstep answered him: tap, tap, tap. Kweku tied raffia markers at each turn, counted his breaths, and listened for echoes that sounded too deep.
PAGE 9 OF 12
At last he reached a chamber bright as morning. On a stone shelf lay the golden ear of corn. Each kernel glowed like a tiny sun.
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Kweku’s stomach growled. He imagined roasting the corn and eating every sweet kernel by himself. But then he thought of the empty bowls in the village. He looked closer. The kernels were not just food. They were seeds.
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Kweku took only a handful, wrapped them carefully, and left the rest shining in the cave. Following his raffia markers, he found his way back through the twisting passages. Outside, Hornback and Feather-Eye blocked the entrance again. Kweku held up his empty hands, then pointed to the dry sky. “A seed is a promise,” he said. “Let me keep this one.” The guardians stepped aside.
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Back in the village, Kweku did not cook the seeds. He planted them in the cracked earth, carried water every morning, and asked everyone to help shade the young shoots. Days passed. Green blades rose. Then tassels. Then rows and rows of corn waved where dust had been. When the harvest came, Kweku filled the village bowls first. Monkey laughed. Antelope bowed her head. Mouse carried one kernel like treasure. Lion smiled. Kweku kept one golden seed in a small clay jar beside his mat. Whenever hunger made him impatient, he remembered: a clever child may find food for today, but a wise child plants for tomorrow.
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 Celestial Circus →
Anansi and the Gift of 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 9–10
