At the edge of the bamboo grove lives Anansi the spider — with his little one, Tuku. One day Anansi's eyes went glittery-bright. “Listen, Tuku — I'm going to gather up all the wisdom in the world. All of it, A-L-L of it, just for me!” His eight legs did a happy thup-thup dance.
From the next morning, Anansi set out with a clay pot. A little wisdom from here, a little from there, one more bit from under the bushes — tup-tap, tup-tap, into the pot it dropped. The fuller the pot grew, the more Anansi's chest puffed up. Tell me — if one fellow takes all the wisdom, what's left for everyone else?
The pot was full now, and heavy — the wisdom inside it glittered. Anansi went whisper-whisper: “Tuku, not a word to anyone! See that tallest banyan? I'll hide it right at its top — no one will ever get it. No one!” And he tied the pot tight against the front of his belly.
One leg, two legs, three — khot-khot! The pot bumped the trunk, and down Anansi slithered, jhur-jhur. Up again, slipping again — again! All eight legs strained tight; he could hardly breathe. From below Tuku called, “Baba, why isn't it working?” “It will — it will, it WILL!” panted Anansi.
Tuku tilted his head and watched for a bit. Then he said, plain as anything, “Baba, why don't you tie the pot on your back? Then you could climb.” All eight of Anansi's legs froze at once. A whole pot of the world's wisdom was his — and yet this one little thing, only his little Tuku had known.
That freeze was all it took — the knot slipped loose. HURMUR — crash! The clay pot smashed to pieces, and the wisdom flew up glittering on the wind. The deer got a little, the birds got a little, even the tiny ant got a little bit. And what Anansi had gathered all those days never, ever came back.
By evening, fireflies blinked tim-tim between the banyan's hanging roots. Anansi looked at the broken pot and burst out laughing — his chest felt a little empty, but still he laughed. “Oh Tuku — all the wisdom was never in my pot. A little of it was with you too, all along.” And he lifted his little one up — onto his back.