Anansi was greedy: he wanted all the wisdom for himself. So, he collected the wisdom, stuffed it into a gourd, planning to hide in the tallest tree in the forest. He and his son found the tallest tree, and then Anansi began climbing.
But something was wrong! The gourd around his neck kept getting in the way. Anansi couldn't climb the tree.
"Try slinging the gourd across your back," said his son.
"Very wise!" said Anansi. "Why didn't I think of that?" Realizing that wisdom should be shared, not hoarded, he poured out the gourd, making wisdom available to all.
Inspired by: "The Gourd Full of Wisdom" in African heritage; an anthology of Black African personality and culture by Jacob Drachler, 1969.
Notes: You can read the original story online. Drachler's source is Tales told in Togoland by Allan Wolsey Cardinall, p. 180-181.In other versions of this story, Anansi does not experience a revelation at the end that prompts him to share the wisdom; instead, he just gets angry and smashes the gourd.
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