Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom

In the beginning, Anansi the spider decided that he should be the sole owner of all the world's wisdom. He traveled from village to village, collecting every scrap of knowledge and every clever idea, stuffing them into a large clay pot. When the pot was full, he decided to hide it at the top of a tall silk-cotton tree where no one else could reach it. Anansi tied the pot to his stomach with a long rope and began to climb. However, the bulky pot bumped against his knees and the tree trunk, making the ascent nearly impossible. His young son, Ntikuma, stood at the base of the tree watching his father struggle. Eventually, Ntikuma called out, 'Father, if you tie the pot to your back instead of your belly, it would be much easier to climb.' Anansi stopped, realizing that even with his pot full of wisdom, his small son had more common sense than he did at that moment. In a fit of frustrated pride, Anansi threw the pot to the ground. It shattered into a thousand pieces, and the wisdom inside scattered across the world for everyone to find.