Home › Anansi Stories › Ages 9-10
AGES 9-10 • 12 pages • about 5 min to read together
Kweku is rescued by six friends whose different gifts work together, then learns that the Globe of Light belongs to everyone as the first moon.
Listen on Spotify
Watch on YouTubeRead the story
PAGE 1 OF 12
Kweku Anansi loved to be the cleverest child in the village. If there was a riddle, he wanted to solve it first. If there was a shortcut, he wanted to find it before anyone else.
PAGE 2 OF 12
But Kweku had six friends who were clever in different ways. Sena noticed trouble before it arrived. Kojo could find a path where others saw only thorns. Ama understood rivers. Yaw knew how to loosen knots and traps. Adwoa could throw a stone straight as an arrow. Ebo could make a landing soft with his woven mats.
PAGE 3 OF 12
One evening, Kweku found a pale round globe in his grandmother’s old chest. It glowed like cool fire. “The Sky King’s Globe of Light,” whispered Grandmother. “It is precious. Guard it well.”
PAGE 4 OF 12
Kweku guarded it for exactly one night. By morning, curiosity tugged harder than caution. He carried the globe into the forest to see how it shone beneath the trees.
PAGE 5 OF 12
Deep in the forest, a huge river fish leapt from a shadowy pool. Its whiskers tangled around Kweku’s scarf, and its heavy tail pinned him against a smooth stone. “Help!” Kweku cried.
PAGE 6 OF 12
Far away in the village, Sena stopped grinding corn. “Kweku is in trouble,” she said. She gathered Kojo, Ama, Yaw, Adwoa, and Ebo. “Then we go together,” Kojo said.
PAGE 7 OF 12
Kojo cut a careful trail through the thorn bushes. Ama read the river’s twists and found a shallow crossing. Yaw loosened the fish’s tangled whiskers strand by strand until Kweku could breathe.
PAGE 8 OF 12
The fish thrashed once more, whiskers whipping through the spray. Adwoa threw a stone beside its tail with a sharp crack. The startled fish jerked back toward the pool. Ebo slid his woven mat beneath Kweku just as Kweku slipped free and dropped safely down.
PAGE 9 OF 12
“I knew you would come,” Kweku said, trying to grin. But before he could thank them properly, a great kite bird swept from the sky and snatched the glowing globe in its claws.
PAGE 10 OF 12
Together they made a plan. Kojo climbed to the vine, Yaw loosened it, Ama called from the open bank, and Adwoa tossed one stone into the leaves. The same brown-gold kite beat its wings, opened its claws, and the globe dropped toward Ebo’s waiting mat.
PAGE 11 OF 12
Kweku held the glowing globe and looked at his friends. “I should give this to the one who helped me most,” he said. Then he grew quiet. Who had helped most? Sena had heard his danger. Kojo had opened the path. Ama had read the river. Yaw had freed him. Adwoa had protected them. Ebo had caught what might have shattered.
PAGE 12 OF 12
That night, Kweku carried the globe to the hill where people left gifts for Nyame, the Sky King. “I cannot choose one helper,” he said. “Their strength worked together.” The sky grew bright. The globe rose from Kweku’s hands, higher and higher, until it hung above the village as the first full moon. Its light touched Sena, Kojo, Ama, Yaw, Adwoa, Ebo, and Kweku all at once. From then on, whenever moonlight silvered the paths and rivers, Kweku remembered: cleverness is bright, but teamwork lights the whole world.
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
