HomeMy WebLinkAboutRead Aloud Book Gr. 2-Lesson 4Anansi the spider had grown some fat, juicy yams in his garden. One day, he
baked the sweet vegetables and made himself a feast. As he sat down to eat, Turtle
came walking up the road.
“I am tired and hungry after walking all day,” Turtle said. “May I share your
dinner?”
Anansi hated to share. He thought to himself, “Anansi, you’re not dumb! Use your
intelligence to keep these sweet yams all to yourself!”
And he quickly devised a scheme to keep them for himself. Only someone as smart
as he was could have come up with such a plan. He felt like a genius.
“Wait. In my home, we never dine with dirty hands,” Anansi said.
So Turtle walked to the river to wash his hands. By the time he returned, Anansi
had eaten half the yams.
Then Turtle tried to sit down, but Anansi cried, “Turtle! Your hands are still dirty!”
It was true. Turtle’s hands had gotten dirty as he returned from the river. So again,
Turtle went to wash. This time he was careful to walk back on the grass, not the
road. But when he returned, Anansi had eaten all the yams. Anansi the trickster had
deceived Turtle and tricked him out of dinner!
“I am sorry you did not save me any sweet yams, Anansi,” Turtle said. “But you’re
always welcome for dinner at my house.”
Anansi couldn’t stop thinking of Turtle’s offer. Soon he showed up at Turtle’s home.
“Welcome to dinner!” cried Turtle. Then he dove underwater, because that is
where he ate—at a table on the bottom of the river.
Anansi jumped in the water to follow Turtle. But his spider body was too light to swim
to the bottom. No matter how he dove and jumped, he kept fl oating to the surface.
Then Anansi had an idea. He loaded the pockets of his jacket with rocks. Their
weight helped him sink down to Turtle’s table.
But Turtle was smart, too. He knew Anansi didn’t deserve to share his feast, so he
came up with a clever plan. As Anansi reached for the food, Turtle said, “Wait. In my
home, we never dine with jackets on.”
When Anansi took off his jacket, he fl oated right back to the surface of the river.
He could only watch as Turtle ate the feast alone.
COMPREHENSION What kind of friend is Anansi? What words help you
understand what Anansi does to keep his yams for himself?
Anansi and Turtle
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It is morning on the dry plains of Africa. Four furry little animals climb up
onto a hill of dirt and stand up tall. The animals have bright black eyes, long
whiskers, and pointy noses. They are still sleepy. The smallest one tips over and
rolls down the hill.
Meet a family of meerkats.
Despite their name, meerkats are not actually cats. They are related to a
kind of animal called a mongoose. Meerkats live in big family groups. Between
fi ve and thirty meerkats live together in each group.
Each group of meerkats shares a few underground homes. These homes
are made up of chambers like the holes in a honeycomb. The meerkats tunnel
through the dirt, digging holes to connect each chamber. When their work is
fi nished, they have buried the deepest chambers almost seven feet down! Living
underground helps the meerkats keep cool and safe. Inside the chambers, there
is little danger that a predator will uncover them. At worst, a digging predator
could turn one of their tunnels into a trench, or a tunnel without a roof.
Meerkats sleep at night in their underground homes. When morning comes,
they wake up. They slip up through their tunnels and climb outside. Then they
sit in the sun. Dark skin on their bellies absorbs the sun’s warmth, and the
meerkats warm up. Wide awake, the meerkats start their day.
Family members play together and groom each other. Some babysit the
young meerkats, and others hunt for food. Like their relatives, the mongooses,
meerkats hunt and eat poisonous snakes. Most of the time, however, they eat
insects. They also eat scorpions, eggs, and snails. They get water from roots
and fruit.
Sometimes meerkats have to fi ght to protect themselves. Other meerkats
might want to steal their food or even their underground homes. Because of
this, meerkats must always watch for enemies. When one meerkat spots an
eagle or a jackal, the whole family dashes to a safe place. They hide there until
it is safe to come out.
Life can be dangerous when you are a little animal in a big place!
COMPREHENSION What words help you understand more about the
meerkats’ underground homes? What do meerkats do to help each other?
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