The Two Crocodiles Who Shared a River: A Story About Working Together
Updated: Oct 13
Episode 2 of The Stories Symbols Tell is here. The Two Crocodiles Who Shared a River is an illustrated story from Teach Between the Lines TV, inspired by Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu, the Akan Adinkra symbol of unity in diversity. It runs about ten minutes, with captions, and it's made for watching together and talking afterward.
The story
Bako and Sefu are two crocodiles who live on opposite sides of the same river. Bako loves to splash. Sefu loves the quiet. Each one is sure the river belongs to him, and after one argument too many, they stretch a rope across the water to divide it: this side is mine, that side is yours.
But the river has other ideas. A little silver fish named Niawa slips right under the rope and asks a question neither crocodile has thought about: does the river know about your rule? Then a storm arrives. Branches pile up against the rope, a post snaps, and the river's smallest fish are trapped in a shallow pool. Bako and Sefu rush to help, and at first they pull in opposite directions.
The symbol behind the story
Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu (foon-toon-foo-neh-foo den-chem-foo-neh-foo) shows two crocodiles sharing one stomach. They have separate heads but share the same body. The Akan proverb behind it points out how odd it is for two creatures who share one stomach to fight over food. The symbol stands for unity in diversity, cooperation and shared destiny: we can be different and still share far more than we realize.
Questions to talk about after watching
Why did Bako and Sefu each believe the river belonged only to him?
What did Niawa notice that the crocodiles didn't?
What happened when they pulled against each other, and what changed when they pulled together?
Think of a time you and someone different from you worked something out. What helped?
What becomes possible when we stop pulling against each other and start working together?
Watch the 30-second preview
Short on time, or want something quick to share? This 30-second preview shows Niawa's big question and the moment Bako and Sefu learn to pull together.
For teachers
The Two Crocodiles Who Shared a River SEL + ELA Lesson Plan turns this episode into three ready-to-teach sessions for grades 2–4. It includes timed video pause points, a hands-on rope challenge, Common Core-aligned reading, writing and speaking work, 11 printer-friendly student pages (including a "Two Sides of the River" point-of-view chart), differentiation notes, a writing rubric, a family take-home page and an answer key. It's a 24-page printable PDF for $4.99.
Next in the series: Episode 3, The Bird Who Went Back for Tomorrow, a story about Sankofa and the wisdom we carry forward.
New to the series? Start with Episode 1, The Ram Who Learned to Bend. And subscribe to Teach Between the Lines TV on YouTube so you don't miss what comes next.
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