Told You Not To Do That! Anansi and the Pot of Beans by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk

On one morning Anansi the Spider went to see his Grandma Spider. He knocked on her door and asked if he could do some work for her.

"Good morning, Grandson!" she said, with a hug. "I want you to plant some beans in the garden!" She showed him what to do and then went back in to the kitchen.

It was hot and Anansi worked up a quite a sweat digging and planting in the hot sun. At last Grandma Spider came out with a pitcher of cold lemonade to cool him off. She told Anansi that she was going to go to the store for some spices for the beans, and warned him sternly not to touch the pot cooking on the stove. It was too hot and too heavy, she told him firmly, and set off to the market.

But the yummy smell rose and drifted out the window right to Anansi's nose. His mouth began to water.

It led Anansi inside to the stove, assuring himself that it couldn't hurt just to inhale the delicious smell a bit closer.

"I'm sure it's all right just to taste the beans, he thought.

And before Anansi knew it, he was slurping up spoonfuls of the beans. Just as he was stashing some of the beans in his hat, for a snack later, he heard the neighbors yelling at blackbirds in Grandma's garden. And when the neighbors and Grandma Spider came in, Anansi only had time to hide the purloined beans in his hat--on his head!

OWWW! They were hot! They were so hot Anansi was sweating and hopping around nervously, trying to pretend nothing was wrong. The neighbors were so impressed with his dancing that they started dancing with him!

"YEOOWW!" Anansi shouted, as he took off his hat. Beans flew everywhere!

And the burned-off hair never grew back on the head of Anansi the Spider--to this day--in Bobby and Sherry Norfolk's retelling of this story from Africa's folklore of that top trickster, Anansi, in their Anansí and the Pot of Beans (Story Cove) (August House Publishers). There are many stories about that too-clever-for-his-own-good trickster, Anansi, for youngsters who love to laugh. Pair this one with the charming and kid-friendly storytelling and illustrations of Eric Kimmel and Janet Stevens in their delightfulAnansi and the Moss-Covered Rock (Anansi the Trickster).