Synopsis
Hoping to beat the other animals in a race without working too hard, Spider asks Great Hippo for different legs, before ending up with the eight he has today.
Children's Literature
This humorous pourquoi tale explains why spiders have eight legs. Long ago in Africa, when spiders had only two legs, one selfish and lazy spider wanted to be better than all of the other animals and win the yearly race. On three separate occasions, Spider asked the Great Hippo for legs like another fast creature. Great Hippo agreed to grant Spider's requests as long as Spider promised to honestly answer a question that Hippo would ask him some day. Spider promised, but then he discovered he was unable to run on his new ostrich, giraffe or cheetah legs. On the day of the race, Spider pretended to be ill and asked Cheetah to take him to Great Hippo who was waiting at the finish line. Spider scampered on to Cheetah's back and as he approached the finish line, Spider climbed onto the tip of Cheetah's nose. Spider declared himself the winner of the race, but when Great Hippo posed the question, "Who REALLY won the race?", Spider answered honestly. Great Hippo thanked Spider for being honest and made Spider's eight legs work properly. The amusing illustrations enhance the delightful tale.