Look inside ...    West African Folk-Tales by William H. Barker This is a delightful collection of stories and fables from West Africa, collected by a missionary. Many stories feature the Spider-man Anansi, a clever but devious character who usually comes to a bad end. Most of the stories or fables have a clever moral, or tell how some aspect of the natural world came to be.  Ages 6-12 124 pages $10.95

Table of Contents

Front Matter

How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"
How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race
Anansi and Nothing
Thunder and Anansi
Why the Lizard Moves His Head Up and Down
Tit for Tat
Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property
The Squirrel and the Spider
Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles
Why Spiders Are Always Found in Corners
Anansi and the Blind Fisherman
Adzanumee and Her Mother
The Grinding-stone That Ground Flour by Itself
"Morning Sunrise"
Why the Sea-turtle Beats Its Breast
How Beasts and Serpents First Came into the World
Honourable Minu
Why the Moon and Stars Receive Light from the Sun
Ohia and the Thieving Deer
How the Tortoise Got Its Shell
The Hunter and the Tortoise
Kwofi and the Gods
The Lion and the Wolf
Maku Mawu and Maku Fia
The Robber and the Old Man
The Leopard and the Ram
Why the Leopard Only Catches Prey on Its Left
Quarcoo Bah-Boni
King Chameleon and the Animals
To Lose an Elephant for the Sake of a Wren
The Ungrateful Man
Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless Provoked
The Omanhene Who Liked Riddles
How Mushrooms First Grew
Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies