Long, long ago, the Sky God, Nyame, kept all stories locked in a wooden box, high in the sky. People down on earth had no stories to tell and they were very sad. They asked Anansi the clever Spider to help them.
Anansi spun a long thread, and climbed up his sticky thread all the way to heaven. "Can I have the stories, please?" he asked the Sky God. But Nyame laughed at Anansi and said, "Oh, these are very expensive stories. You wouldn't be able to pay for them, little spider."
"How much do the stories cost?" asked Anansi. "You'll have to bring me three rare and fierce animals," Nyame answered, "A leopard with sharp teeth like spears, a hornet that stings people, and a snake that swallows people whole." He laughed and laughed. He thought his stories were quite safe.
So Anansi climbed slowly back down his sticky thread to the earth. He thought and he thought, and he came up with a plan. He dug a deep hole, covered it with branches and dirt so it was hidden, and he went home for supper. In the morning, sure enough, a leopard had fallen into his pit.

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