Long ago, a hardworking Squirrel cultivated a fine farm in the forest. He had spent much time and effort preparing the land, planting his crops, and tending to them until the fields were filled with healthy, growing corn.
Squirrel was an excellent climber. Rather than make a road to his farm, he travelled through the trees, moving from branch to branch until he reached his fields. It was a convenient arrangement, and he saw no reason to do things differently.
As the harvest season approached, the crops began to ripen. Squirrel looked forward to gathering the fruits of his labour.
But one day, Spider came hunting in the neighbourhood and discovered the farm. He was impressed by the abundance of crops and immediately began looking for a road that would lead to the fields. When he could find none, he returned home and told his family about the wonderful farm he had found.
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The following day, Spider gathered his family, and they all went to inspect the place. They set to work making a road into the farm. Once the road was complete, Spider scattered broken pieces of earthenware pots along it. He wanted people to believe that his children had dropped them while helping to prepare the land.
With this deception in place, Spider and his family began cutting down the ripe corn and carrying it away.
Before long, Squirrel noticed that his harvest was disappearing. At first, he could not discover who was responsible. Determined to protect what he had worked so hard to grow, he decided to keep watch over his farm.
His patience soon paid off. Spider returned to take more corn, and Squirrel confronted him.
“What right have you to take crops from my farm?” Squirrel demanded.
Spider turned the question back on him.
“What right have you to claim this farm as yours?”
“These are my fields,” Squirrel replied. “I dug the land, sowed the seeds, and planted these crops myself.”
Spider was unmoved.
“If this is truly your farm,” he asked, “where is the road leading to it?”
“I have no need for a road,” Squirrel explained. “I reach my farm by climbing through the trees.”
Spider burst into laughter. To him, Squirrel’s explanation was ridiculous. He insisted that the farm belonged to him and continued taking the harvest as though he were its rightful owner.
Squirrel, unwilling to surrender the results of his hard work, appealed to the law. He hoped that the court would recognise the truth and put an end to Spider’s deception.
Instead, the court ruled against him. According to its reasoning, a farm could not belong to someone if there was no road leading to it. Since Spider had made a road, the court declared that the farm must be his.
Squirrel was left to suffer the loss of his land and harvest, while Spider celebrated his victory.
Spider’s Stolen Harvest
With the court’s decision in his favour, Spider and his family returned to the farm with renewed confidence. They cut down the remaining corn, tied it into large bundles, and prepared to take everything to the nearest marketplace to sell.
Pleased with their success, they set off carrying their heavy loads.
They had travelled about halfway to the market when a terrible storm broke over the countryside. The rain made it impossible to continue safely, so Spider and his children placed their bundles beside the road and hurried away to find shelter.
When the storm finally passed, they returned to collect their corn.
But an unexpected sight awaited them.
A large black Crow stood beside the bundles, spreading his broad wings over the corn to protect it from the rain.
Spider approached him politely.
“Thank you for taking such good care of our property,” he said.
Crow turned towards him in surprise.
“Your property?” he replied. “Who has ever heard of anyone leaving bundles of corn by the roadside? These loads belong to me!”
Before Spider could do anything about it, Crow gathered the bundles and carried them away.
Spider and his children could only watch as their stolen harvest disappeared. They had set out hoping to profit from another creature’s labour, but they returned home sorrowful and empty-handed.
Their dishonesty had brought them little profit after all.
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Moral
Dishonesty and greed may bring temporary success, but taking what belongs to others does not guarantee lasting profit.
Spider succeeds in taking Squirrel’s farm through deception, but he eventually loses the harvest he has stolen. The ending warns against exploiting others and reminds readers that dishonest gains can disappear just as quickly as they are obtained.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did Squirrel have no road leading to his farm?
He was a skilful climber who reached the farm by travelling through the trees.
2. How did Spider try to make the farm appear to belong to him?
He constructed a road and scattered pieces of broken earthenware along it to create a misleading impression of his family’s earlier work.
3. Why did the court rule against Squirrel?
It reasoned that a farm without a road leading to it could not belong to Squirrel.
4. What happened to Spider’s stolen harvest?
A storm forced Spider and his family to leave their bundles beside the road. When they returned, Crow claimed the corn and carried it away.
5. What makes the ending ironic?
Spider uses a questionable claim to take Squirrel’s farm, then loses his stolen harvest when Crow uses similar reasoning to claim the bundles.
Source
Barker, W. H., and Cecilia Sinclair, compilers. West African Folk-Tales. London: George G. Harrap & Company, 1917. Chapter VIII, “The Squirrel and the Spider,” printed pages 59–61.
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