• A copy of the story "Mabouya, Chief of the Well"

• Familiarize yourself with the story.

The story illustrates that water is a resource necessarily shared by all because it is critical to the very existence of all life. Many humans, too, take more than they really need.

Gather participants. Read or tell the story. Then, process with these questions:

• What mistake did Mabouya make?
• Have you ever felt greedy? Think about when and why. Sometimes greed is really a fear that we will run out of something we need-a fear that, sometime in the future, we will not have enough. Do you think that is how Mabouya felt?
• What else was going on with Mabouya? If not greed, what caused her to withhold water from the other animals? Did she perhaps think she was special or superior to the others, and therefore deserved more? Did she not believe they were really thirsty?
• Were you surprised that all the animals simply went away thirsty? What might you have done, if you were one of the animals?
• How do you act when you need something? What do you do if someone says you cannot have it?

How is needing something different from wanting something? And how do you feel when you want something you cannot have? (Children especially can want something intensely; you could also ask them to imagine how much worse that feeling is when applied to something they need.)