The Squirrel and the Spider
William H. Barker | West Africa
A cunning spider steals a squirrel's farm by building a road and claiming ownership, but loses everything to a clever crow.
Anansi, a mischievous spider, tricks Brother Turtle to catch fish for him but learns the value of hard work in the end.
A majestic Mountain with strange noises drew crowds of curious people, but their long wait revealed a humble Mouse instead.
A sow refuses a wolf's offer to watch her piglets, seeing through the wolf's true intentions and protecting her young.
An ostrich, possessing characteristics of both birds and beasts, seamlessly moved between them, surprising and eventually gaining acceptance from both sides.
Curious spider Anansi finds a magical rock that puts animals to sleep; he tricks them but is eventually outsmarted.
A woman had a special Hen that laid one egg daily, so she tried feeding it more to get two eggs, but it stopped laying altogether.
A Bat, Thorn Bush, and Seagull started a business, but their ship sank, making the Bat hide, Seagull search, and Thorn Bush cling to fabric.
A clever jackal in search of an easy meal watches two fighting goats, but his greed leads to a painful lesson.
Once upon a time, there was a hardworking squirrel who had spent a lot of time and effort making his farm successful. He grew plenty of crops, and because he was great at climbing trees, he didn’t worry about building a road to his farm. Instead, he reached it by jumping from tree to tree.
One day, when his crops were almost ready to be harvested, a spider was out hunting nearby. Spider came across the squirrel’s farm and was amazed at how good it looked. He looked for a road that led to the farm but couldn’t find one. Spider returned home and told his family about the beautiful farm. The very next day, Spider and his family went to the farm and quickly built a road to it. Spider, being sneaky, scattered pieces of broken pottery along the road to make it look like his family had been working hard on the farm for a long time.
Then, Spider and his family started stealing the ripe crops from the squirrel’s farm. Squirrel noticed that some of his crops were missing, but at first, he didn’t know who was stealing them. Determined to catch the thief, Squirrel decided to watch his farm closely. Sure enough, Spider came back to take more crops. Squirrel confronted him, asking, "What right do you have to be on my farm?"
Spider, quick to lie, responded, "What right do you have? This farm belongs to me!"
Squirrel was shocked. "No, it’s mine! I planted and grew these crops," he said.
"But where is your road to the farm?" Spider asked slyly. "If this was really your farm, you would have a road leading to it."
Squirrel replied, "I don’t need a road. I get here by climbing the trees."
Spider laughed at this, mocking Squirrel. "A farm with no road? That’s ridiculous! This farm is mine now."
Squirrel was upset and decided to take the matter to court. However, the court ruled in Spider’s favor. They said no one could own a farm without a road, so it must belong to Spider.
Spider and his family were overjoyed. They planned to harvest the rest of the crops and take them to the market to sell. After gathering all the crops, they tied them up in large bundles and set off for the market. Halfway there, a terrible storm came, forcing them to drop the bundles by the roadside and run for shelter.
When the storm ended, they returned to get their bundles. But when they arrived, they saw a huge black crow standing over the bundles, using his wings to keep them dry.
Spider politely thanked the crow, saying, "Thank you so much for guarding our crops."
The crow stared at Spider and said, "Your crops? Who leaves bundles of crops by the roadside? These are mine now."
Without waiting for an argument, the crow picked up the bundles and flew away, leaving Spider and his family with nothing. Their dishonest ways had cost them everything, and they returned home empty-handed, learning that stealing brought them no rewards in the end.
A Jackdaw and Peacock Feathers
Jackdaw, a plain bird, found and adorned himself with peacock feathers, only to be exposed and ridiculed, returning to his ordinary state in shame.
A Dog, A Sheep, and A Wolf
The Dog borrowed food from the Sheep, forgot the debt, and refused to repay, leading to an unfair court decision against the innocent Sheep.
A Gardener and His Dog
A dog falls into a well, and the gardener, while trying to save him, gets bitten due to a misunderstanding, leaving the dog behind.
How the Turtle Saved His Own Life
A king's pond frightened the princes with a mistaken turtle monster, but the clever turtle escaped and swam back to safety.
A lion and bear fought over a goat, exhausting themselves, and a fox took advantage, leaving them with regret.
A hardworking Butcher's shop is visited by a stray dog that steals a sheep's heart, prompting the Butcher to be more vigilant.
A frightened Thunny being chased by a Dolphin cleverly leads them both to the shore, where they both get stranded.
Anansi, a clever little spider, challenges Elephant and Hippo to a tug-of-war. Can his wit win against strength in the jungle?
A fowler deceives a curious Blackbird with the promise of a marvelous city but captures it in a net instead.
Clever spider Anansi tricked the turtle with soup, but the turtle's underwater house left Anansi wet and hungry.
A strong Wolf believed he was a Lion and joined real Lions, only to realize he was just a regular Wolf among them.
A confident mule enjoying a carefree break believed he had racing horse lineage, but after a day of labor, he doubted his heritage.