The Spider and the Honeytree 

The Spider and the Honeytree

A story from Sudan

There was a very smart, little girl.  She lived in a village where fruit was hard to find.  She had a special talent: she could find the most delicious fruit trees. The girl found the most delicious bananas.  She knew where to go for the juiciest berries.  She always got the sweetest honey.

The little girl was kind.  She always shared the fruit.

One day, a spider walked up to the girl.  He said, “Can you tell me where to find good fruit?  I am very hungry.  Please help.”

The little girl was very nice.  She accepted and said “Yes, I will help you find fruit.”

The girl walked and walked.  The spider walked along with the girl.  They found more bananas than the spider could imagine!  The spider pushed the girl.  He ran and ran to the bananas.  He ate every one of the bananas.  He did not say “thank you.”

The girl was sad, but just kept walking.

The next day, the spider was hungry again.  The spider returned to the girl.  He said, “Can you tell me where to find good fruit?  I am very hungry.  Please help.”

The little girl was suspicious, but she was kind.  She said “Yes, I will help you find fruit.”

The girl and the spider walked and walked.  They found so many berries!  The spider pushed the girl and ran to the berries.  Again, he ate every one of the berries.  He did not say “thank you.”

The girl was sad, and thought, “I will be kind, but nature will not.”

Again, the spider walked up to the girl and said, “Can you tell me where to find good fruit?  I will not push you.  Please.”

The little girl had a plan.  She said “Yes, I will help you find fruit, but do not eat it all.  Nature is not kind to the greedy.”

“Ha! What a silly girl!” thought the greedy spider.  The spider walked with the girl to a tree.  In the tree, there was more honey than spider could imagine.  Spider pushed the girl.  In the tree, he ate and ate all the honey!

“Silly girl!”  said the spider.  He laughed.

Then he turned to go home.  He tried to go, but he could not get out of the hole.  He was stuck in the tree.  His stomach was too big from eating the honey.

The girl laughed and said, “Nature is kind to me, so I am kind.  Now you will learn to be kind to nature too.”  The girl turned and walked home.  On the walk home, she picked berries and ate with a smile.