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AGES 7-8 • 12 pages • about 4 min to read together
Kweku misleads his friends into searching for his missing sandal, then discovers it was near his own garden and learns to search honestly first.
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PAGE 1 OF 12
Kweku Anansi had been invited to the chief’s golden banquet, and he wanted to arrive looking clever from head to toe.
PAGE 2 OF 12
He washed his cream tunic, brushed his orange scarf, and polished his dark brown two-strap sandals until the leather shone. Then he reached under his bed. One sandal was there. The other was gone.
PAGE 3 OF 12
Kweku searched his hut in a whirl. He lifted folded cloth, peeked behind clay pots, checked under the sleeping mat, and even looked inside his favorite basket.
PAGE 4 OF 12
“A boy with one sandal walks like a drum with one beat,” Kweku groaned. “I cannot go to the banquet lopsided.”
PAGE 5 OF 12
Outside, Okyere the sunset bird perched in the baobab tree. Kweku put on his sweetest smile. “Okyere, I heard there is a treasure hidden high in the branches. Could your sharp eyes help me find it?”
PAGE 6 OF 12
Okyere flew from branch to branch. She looked in old nests, under leaves, and beside ripe figs. She found a shiny beetle shell, but no sandal.
PAGE 7 OF 12
Kweku hurried to the riverbank. Kwesi Turtle was resting on a flat warm stone. “Kwesi, I heard a dark brown charm fell into the river. Could your careful eyes search below?”
PAGE 8 OF 12
Kwesi slipped into the clear water. He checked smooth stones, river weeds, and a hollow log. He found a round pebble, but no sandal.
PAGE 9 OF 12
The sun dipped low. Kweku grabbed a broad banana leaf and tied it around his bare foot with vines. It looked like a giant green shoe, but it was the best he could do.
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Thump-swish, thump-swish, Kweku hobbled toward the palace. Near his own garden, the leaf shoe caught on a root. Kweku tumbled softly into a pile of hibiscus flowers.
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When he sat up, he saw the root was not a root at all. Tucked under the flowers was his missing dark brown sandal, dusty but safe. He had kicked it there the night before while chasing a moth.
PAGE 12 OF 12
Kweku shook off the dust and put on both sandals. At the banquet gate, Okyere chirped, “So you found your treasure.” Kweku laughed. “Yes, and next time I will search honestly before I send my friends searching for me.”
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
