Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom

Nyame, the Sky God, once decided to give all the wisdom in the world to one person. He gathered it all into a single clay pot and gave it to Anansi the Spider. "This pot contains all the world's wisdom," Nyame said. "I am entrusting it to you." Anansi was thrilled. He thought, "I will not share this with anyone. I will hide the pot at the top of the tallest tree, where no one can find it." Anansi took the pot and set out to find the tallest, smoothest tree in the forest. When he found it, he decided to climb. However, he tied the pot to his front, so it hung on his belly, which made climbing very difficult. He struggled and slipped, trying to wrap his legs around the tree trunk, but the pot was always in the way. He tried for a long time, getting more and more frustrated. Anansi's young son, Ntikuma, had followed him and was watching from the bushes. Finally, Ntikuma could not remain silent any longer. "Father," he called out, "would it not be easier if you tied the pot to your back?" Anansi was furious. Here he was, with all the wisdom in the world in a pot, and his young son had thought of something so simple that he had not. In a fit of rage, he shouted, "If I, with all the wisdom in the world, could not figure that out, then there is no point in keeping it!" He lifted the pot and smashed it on the ground. The wisdom spilled out and was scattered to all the corners of the world. A great wind blew it far and wide, and that is why today, wisdom is not owned by one person, but a little bit can be found in everyone.