Read, Count, Play – Every Child, Every Day!

Fati and the Green Snake

by

Illustrated by

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Fati was a little girl who ran like the wind.

She loved to laugh, and always tried hard to do as she was told.

  1. It can be hard sometimes to do what you are told. Are you good at following directions?
  2. How do you feel when you don’t do as you are told?
  3. Does Fati have more, or less, limbs (arms and legs) than there are ends to her stick?
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One day, Fati went with her mother and father to look for firewood.

  1. Have you ever tried to balance something on your head the way Fati’s mother is doing? What sorts of things do people carry on their heads?
  2. Looking at Fati’s head and shoulders, what do you think she is feeling?
  3. Count together the people in this picture.
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Fati liked to help her mother and father, but there was so much to do and so much to see.

There were birds, monkeys, and the sky!

  1. When you are outside, what do you like to look at in the sky?
  2. How many birds is Fati looking at?
  3. Count together all the ends of the sticks in this picture.
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Mother said, “Fati, please listen! You can look for firewood here and you can look for firewood there.”

  1. Fati and her mother are holding outdoor tools. Have you used tools, such as a broom, to do work outside?
  2. Fati’s mother’s dress has a design on it. Count together how many times the design is repeated. Can you count that high? If not, count just one leg.
  3. Two people have a total of two heads. Together, how many legs, arms, eyes, and ears do these two people have?
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But Fati, please watch where you go and be very careful.”

She replied, “Yes, mother.”

  1. What kinds of things might be dangerous for Fati while out collecting firewood?
  2. Which sorts of things are you warned to be careful about?
  3. Do you listen to those warnings? Do you think Fati will listen?
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Soon Fati’s mother and father were very busy.

  1. There are many reasons people wear hats. Why is Fati’s father wearing a hat?
  2. Fati’s father uses a hat to work outside in the sun. Can you think of other clothes that have special uses for certain occasions?
  3. Fati’s family is gathering firewood. Other than keeping warm, what are some ways people use fires?
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They found big pieces of firewood.

They found small pieces of firewood.

  1. Do the different sizes of firewood have different uses?
  2. Count how many pieces of firewood there are.
  3. Compare the thickness of the biggest pieces of firewood to Fati’s father’s leg. Which is wider and which is narrower?
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Fati was also very busy.

She found small pieces of firewood.

She found very small pieces of firewood.

  1. Why do you think Fati found such small pieces of firewood?
  2. In making a fire, having a variety of sizes of wood is useful. The small pieces help get the fire going, and the big pieces can make it last a long time.
  3. Count together how many pieces of firewood Fati has found. It’s tricky to tell because her wood is all jumbled together.
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Then Fati looked up.

She saw a red bird in the tall grass.

  1. Lots of animals have things in common, such as a mouth and a heart. Guess what birds have that no other animal has. (feathers)
  2. Fati is having too much fun looking at special things to worry about looking for dangers. Is she being careless?
  3. Does the bird’s red color blend in with the colors in the tall grass?
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Next, Fati looked down.

She saw a brown ant on the dusty path.

  1. The largest ants are about the same length as your finger. Do you think the artist got a little carried away drawing this ant?
  2. Ants have six legs. How many legs does this ant have?
  3. If ants should have six legs, how many legs is this ant missing?
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Fati saw a beautiful leaf. The leaf was shiny and green.

She put one finger on the beautiful leaf.

  1. What do you think will happen next with this strange leaf?
  2. What is different about the "leaf" that Fati is touching?
  3. An estimate is an educated guess. Make an estimate of how many leaves are in this picture. Is it a number bigger than you know?
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Fati said, “This does not feel like a leaf.”

Suddenly, the beautiful leaf moved!

Fati said, “This is not a beautiful leaf. This is a green snake!”

  1. Which of her five senses did Fati use to notice the snake?
  2. If you remove one of the five senses, how many are left?
  3. Can you name all five of your senses?
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Fati screamed, “EII!”

She ran very fast to look for her mother and father.

  1. Fati screamed and ran. When you are surprised and scared, what do you do?
  2. Do you like to hide in your bed or maybe under your bed? What is your favorite hiding spot?
  3. Fati is running so fast that she doesn’t notice something. What is it?
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Fati saw her father and shouted, “A snake! A snake!”

Father said, “Where? Where?”

Fati said, “There! There!”

  1. Do you think her father is angry that she wondered away, happy that she is okay, or both?
  2. Her father has two shoes. How many shoes does Fati have and how many is she missing?
  3. Together they have one more shoe than her father has. What is one more than two?
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Then her father chased the green snake with a stick.

The green snake slithered away.

  1. Have you ever seen a snake outside on the ground or in a bush?
  2. Some snakes are very dangerous, and many others are safe. Do some snakes do good things?
  3. What do you know about snakes?
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Father said, “Fati, you are safe.”

Let’s go to mother and tell her about the green snake.”

  1. What are Fati and her father feeling in this picture?
  2. What do you think her mother will say?
  3. Fati got back her other shoe. Now she and her father have one more than three shoes. How many shoes is that?
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Mother said, “Fati, I am happy the green snake did not bite you.”

  1. Are you surprised that her mother is not angry?
  2. Count together the number of many kinds of things in this picture.
  3. Are there more pants or dresses? Are there more sandals or boots?
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“But next time, please, look where you go, and be more careful.”

And that was the end of that.

  1. What does the story mean by "And that was the end of that." ?
  2. The three of them have three pairs of shoes. How many is that?
  3. You can count all their shoes by counting by 2’s – 2, 4, 6. Or, you could think of it as twice the number of people – 3, 6. Which way is easier for you?

You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:

Fati and the Green Snake
Author — Osu Library Fund
Illustration — Therson Boadu
Language — English
Level — First sentences
© African Storybook Initiative 2018
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Source www.africanstorybook.org

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