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Anansi and Squirrel is a story from the Rafiki Remembers magazine collection. It was published in the 1990s as part of The Lion King: A Nature Fun and Learn Series.
Synopsis
Squirrel finds himself a private plot of land where he grows a fine crop of maize. One day, Anansi the spider is hunting for food when he stumbles upon Squirrel's sweet-smelling maize. He wonders how the farmer is able to reach his field, as the maize has no clear path through it. Though he returns home afterward, he thinks on the problem all evening until an idea comes to him.
The next morning, Anansi leads his family to the maize field, where they glean some of Squirrel's maize and take it home for dinner. This goes on for several days, until Squirrel takes notice and decides to lie in wait for the thief. Eventually, he catches Anansi in the act and demands to know why he is stealing the maize for himself. Anansi asks how the maize could be Squirrel's, and Squirrel explains that he had planted and tended to the maize before Anansi had found it.
Despite Squirrel's claims, Anansi declares that the maize is his, for he has cleared a path through the field himself. Squirrel explains that he does not need a path, for he tends the crops from the trees, and declares that he will be bringing Anansi before a court. However, when Anansi points out that no field lacks a path through it, the court rules in his favor, and Squirrel must watch as Anansi and his family take his hard-earned maize.
When Anansi and his family are bringing the last of the maize home, a storm hits, and the family abandons the maize in the grass. After the storm, the family returns to find that their maize has been protected from the rain by a crow, who has spread his wings over it. Anansi starts to thank the crow, but the crow simply states that no one would leave their maize abandoned in a field, and he takes off with it in his talons.
Without their maize, Anansi and his family return home and find themselves hungry for the first time in weeks.
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