Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom

Long ago the world was brand new and things were not what we see as now. People did not know how to build houses, or how to weave cloth or even how to farm. 

This was because all the wisdom of the entire world was stored in a single large clay pot which was sealed tight with a cork. 

This pot was kept by Nyame, the Supreme Creator and the Great Sky God.

One day, Nyame decided that he did not want to keep all the wisdom to himself, so Nyame sent for Anansi the Spider.

Nyame handed over the heavy clay pot that had every single idea, invention and every piece of common sense that ever existed, to Anansi. “Anansi, take this pot of wisdom to Earth and share all the wisdom in it with all the creatures of earth so that they may learn to live well.”

Anansi bowed to Nyame and took the pot. Then Anansi spun a thread from the sky to the earth. But as Anansi reached earth a selfish thought came to him. ‘If I share this wisdom with everyone, all of them will become as clever as me. But if I keep this pot to myself, I will be the wisest creature in the universe. Everyone will have to come to me for advice, and I will be rich.’

So Anansi decided to hide the pot. 

He found the Onyina or the silk cotton tree which was a sacred tree that reached high into the clouds and the trunk of the Onyina tree has sharp thorns to keep animals away.

Anansi was very happy because he realized that this was the perfect place to hide the Pot of Wisdom because no one could climb the tree.

Using a thick vine, Anansi tied the heavy clay pot around his neck so that the pot rested right against his belly and then Anansi started climbing the tree.

However, midway, the pot was wedged between Anansi’s stomach and the tree.

Anansi struggled with the pot for nearly an hour after that but the pot did not move.

Suddenly Anansi heard a giggling voice from the base of the tree. 

Anansi looked down and saw his youngest son Ntikuma who was laughing at him. 

“What is so funny?” Anansi snapped.

“Oh Father!” Ntikuma giggled. “You are supposed to be having all the wisdom in the world, but you do not have the common sense to even tie the pot to your back so that it would not get in the way of your climbing.”

Anansi stared and realized that his son was absolutely right.

Even though Anansi had all the wisdom in the world, his son had shown more wisdom than him.

In a fit of anger, Anansi kicked the pot.

The heavy clay pot fell to the forest floor and shattered into a million pieces.

The wisdom burst free and blew into the rivers, fields and villages, where every single person, animal and insect breathed in the scattered wisdom.

High above, the great Sky God Nyame smiled. He had known how greedy and foolish Anansi was and Nyame knew that by giving the pot to a selfish trickster, Nyame made sure that the wisdom was available for all of the earth.

Adapted from African Folklore

The Fox and the Hedgehog

A fox and a hedgehog were strolling through the forests. 

The fox was very proud of itself. It looked down at its prickly companion with a smug smile. “Do you know hedgehog, if the hounds suddenly come, I am so clever that I have a hundred different strategies to escape. I can double back on my tracks. I can leap over streams, and I have half a dozen secret burrows, all over the forest.” The fox looked even more smug. “I have a master plan for everything.” 

The fox finally looked at the hedgehog with pity. “You however, have nothing!”

The hedgehog was quiet for a few seconds. “I have one trick, and I think that is enough.”

Suddenly the fox and the hedgehog heard the hound’s howl echoing through the trees. 

The hedgehog did not pause. He tucked his head and pulled his paws and rolled himself into a tight sharp ball of defensive spikes.

On hearing the hounds, the fox's brilliant mind, however, went through many possibilities. 

The fox wondered whether he should run to the river, but then the fox decided against it, because the water current was too strong. Then, the fox wondered whether he had to double back, but then the fox realised that the wind was blowing straight towards the hound. Finally, the fox wondered whether he had to climb the ridge. But then the fox was afraid that this would damage his beautiful fur. 

So thinking all this, the fox was frozen on his tracks.

While the fox was still calculating all this, the hounds burst from the trees. 

The hedgehog remained perfectly safe inside his prickly armour. The hedgehog heard the commotion around and looked up only when the noise around him faded into the distance.

When the hedgehog finally felt that it was safe, he unrolled and looked around. 

The fox was, however, nowhere to be found.

The hedgehog went home safe that day, because he knew that one simple, reliable plan executed immediately was better than a hundred complex options.

Adapted from Aesop’s Fables

The Crow and the Peacock

There was once a crow that did not like its black feathers.

The crow often admired the colourful feathers of the peacock and wanted to be one among the peacocks. 

The crow would often tell its fellow crows, “You all look so dull and plain. look how beautiful the peacocks are. I wish I were a peacock, too.”

Finally, the crow had an idea. 

It decided to pick up all the peacock feathers that had fallen down and decided to stick it to its own wings so that it would look like the peacock.

Painstakingly, using tree sap, the crow stuck all the fallen peacock feathers to its tail.

The crow looked at its own work. “Now I am as gorgeous as a peacock.” The crow told itself.

However, when the crow tried to join the flock of peacocks, the crow was mocked and thrown out of the place because the peacocks clearly saw that the crow was not one among them. “Putting on peacock feathers will not make you a peacock.”

Sadly the crow returned to the other crows. But none of the crows now wanted to be with this crow that had shunned them.

A wise old crow came and told the crow its lesson. “We have to accept ourselves for the way that we are and not copy others, blindly. I hope that you have learned your lesson.”

Adapted from the Panchantantra

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