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A spider standing in front of a clay pot.

Si Anansi at ang Dunong Anansi and Wisdom Anansi et la sagesse

Written by Ghanaian folktale

Illustrated by Wiehan de Jager

Translated by Arlene Avila

Read by La Trinidad Mina

Language Tagalog

Level Level 3

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Autoplay story


A god in the sky holding a clay pot and four people looking confused.

Noong unang panahon, walang alam ang mga tao. Hindi sila marunong magtanim, humabi at gumawa ng kasangkapan. Lahat ng karunungan ay tinago ng diyos na si Nyame sa isang palayok sa langit.

Long long ago people didn’t know anything. They didn’t know how to plant crops, or how to weave cloth, or how to make iron tools. The god Nyame up in the sky had all the wisdom of the world. He kept it safe in a clay pot.

Il y a longtemps, les gens ne savaient rien. Ils ne savaient pas comment ensemmencer et cultiver leurs champs, ou comment tisser, ou comment fabriquer des outils de fer. Le dieu Nyame dans le ciel avait toute la sagesse du monde. Il la gardait en sécurité dans un pot en argile.


A spider standing in front of a clay pot.

Isang araw, naisipan ni Nyame na ibigay ang palayok ng karunungan kay Anansi. Tuwing tumitingin si Anansi sa loob ng palayok, may natututunan siyang bago! Tuwang tuwa si Anansi.

One day, Nyame decided that he would give the pot of wisdom to Anansi. Every time Anansi looked in the clay pot, he learned something new. It was so exciting!

Un jour, Nyame décida qu’il donnerait le pot de la sagesse à Anansi. Chaque fois qu’Anansi regardait dans le pot en argile, il apprenait quelque chose de nouveau. C’était tellement excitant !


A spider climbing a tall tree with a clay pot tied to its stomach and a boy standing at the bottom of the tree.

Dahil madamot si Anansi, naisip niya, “Itatago ko ang palayok sa tuktok ng mataas na puno para sa akin lang ang lahat ng kaalaman!” Tinali niya ang palayok sa kanyang tiyan at nagsimulang umakyat sa puno. Pero nahirapan siya dahil tumatama ang palayok sa kanyang tuhod.

Greedy Anansi thought, “I’ll keep the pot safe at the top of a tall tree. Then I can have it all to myself!” He spun a long thread, wound it round the clay pot, and tied it to his stomach. He began to climb the tree. But it was hard climbing the tree with the pot bumping him in the knees all the time.

Anansi, l’avide, pensa: « Je vais garder le pot en sécurité en haut d’un grand arbre. Comme ça je pourrai l’avoir à moi seul ! » Il fila un fil long, l’enroula autour du pot en argile et l’attacha à son estomac. Il commença à grimper à l’arbre. Mais c’était difficile de grimper à l’arbre avec le pot qui lui cognait les genoux tout le temps.


A spider climbing a tall tree with a clay pot tied to its back and a boy standing at the bottom of the tree.

Nakatingin lang pala sa kanya ang kanyang batang anak sa baba ng puno. “Mas maganda po siguro kung nakatali sa likod ang palayok,” sabi nito. Tinali ni Anansi ang palayok sa kanyang likod at madali nga siyang nakaakyat.

All the time Anansi’s young son had been standing at the bottom of the tree watching. He said, “Wouldn’t it be easier to climb if you tied the pot to your back instead?” Anansi tried tying the clay pot full of wisdom to his back, and it really was a lot easier.

Pendant tout ce temps, le jeune fils d’Anansi était debout en bas de l’arbre en train de regarder. « Au lieu de faire ceci, ne serait-il pas plus facile d’attacher le pot à ton dos ? » Anansi essaya d’attacher le pot rempli de sagesse à son dos et ce fut vraiment plus facile.


A spider at the top of a tree throwing a clay pot down.

Nang marating niya ang tuktok ng puno, bigla siyang natigilan. “Alam ko dapat lahat pero bakit mas matalino pa sa akin ang anak ko?” Nagalit si Anansi kaya hinagis niya ang palayok pababa.

In no time he reached the top of the tree. But then he stopped and thought, “I’m supposed to be the one with all the wisdom, and here my son was cleverer than me!” Anansi was so angry about this that he threw the clay pot down out of the tree.

En peu de temps il atteignit le sommet de l’arbre. Mais il arrêta et pensa, « Je suis censé être celui qui a toute la sagesse et voici que mon fils est plus sage que moi ! » Anansi était tellement fâché à propos de ceci qu’il lança le pot en argile en bas de l’arbre.


Pieces of clay and wisdom scattered on the ground.

Nabasag ang palayok at kumalat ang mga piraso sa lupa. Kumalat din ang karunungan at nabigyan ang lahat. Ganito nalaman ng tao kung paano magsaka ng bukid, humabi ng tela, gumawa ng kasangkapan at marami pang ibang bagay na alam ng tao ngayon.

It smashed into pieces on the ground. The wisdom was free for everyone to share. And that is how people learned to farm, to weave cloth, to make iron tools, and all the other things that people know how to do.

Le pot se cassa en mille morceaux sur le sol. La sagesse fut accessible à tous. Et c’est ainsi que les gens apprirent à cultiver, tisser, fabriquer des outils de fer, et toutes les autres choses que les gens savent faire.


Written by: Ghanaian folktale
Illustrated by: Wiehan de Jager
Translated by: Arlene Avila
Read by: La Trinidad Mina
Language: Tagalog
Level: Level 3
Source: Anansi and Wisdom from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International License.
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