170 Fables and Stories: Supplemental Guide 10A | All Stories Are Anansi’s
Presenting the Read-Aloud 15 minutes
All Stories Are Anansi’s
Show image 10A-1: Anansi overlooking the village
Long ago, there were no stories on Earth. It was believed that all
stories belonged to the sky god, Nyame, who kept the stories in a box
beneath his throne.Because they had no stories to share, the people of the earth just sat
around their campfires.[Say to students: “Tell your partner what you think the people might be doing or
saying around the campfire.” Call on two partner pairs to share.]
One day, looking down from his web, Anansi the Spider could see
that the people were restless and bored. Anansi decided he would
bring them something that would make them happy and would help
them pass the time.Anansi stretched his eight legs and wove a wonderful web that
reached all the way to the sky. He climbed up the web until he arrived
at the throne of the sky god Nyame, the keeper of all stories. Show image 10A-2: Nyame and Anansi
“Nyame,” he said, “wise one, great god of the sky, will you let me
have the great box where you keep the stories? I would like to take
the stories to the people who live on the earth.”[Explain that Anansi wanted to bring the stories to the people so they would be
happy and would have something to do.]
“I will give you the box of stories,” said Nyame, in a booming voice. “But
the price is high. You must bring me three things: Onini [oh-NEE-nee], the
great python who can swallow a goat; Osebo [oh-SAY-boe], the mighty
leopard, whose teeth are as sharp as spears; and Mmoboro [mmoh-
BOH-roh], the hornet whose sting burns like a needle of fire.”[Have students point to each animal on Response Card 10.]
“I will pay the price,” said Anansi.Anansi swung back down to Earth on his web. He went to speak with
his wife, Aso. Together, they crafted a plan to capture Onini, the great
python who could swallow a goat.