The African Chief and His Throne

An African chief heard stories about kings that sat on
thrones. So he had one built for him out of ivory. He had his
men set it outside his hut’s door every morning and there
he sat to reign over his “kingdom.” He sent out raiding
parties to subdue other tribes and forced them to bring
expensive offerings to him.
Other chiefs thought it was the throne that gave him this
power. So one chief made a raid and took off with the
throne. Then HE was the one everyone had to give expensive
gifts to. Chief after chief captured the throne and made
like kings.
Finally, the original chief got the throne back. This time, he
hid it. He had his men put heavy-duty rafters in his grassthatched
hut and built an attic. They hoisted the throne up
into the attic. He remained king because raiding parties
could not find the throne.
One day the chief was sitting in his hut. Suddenly there
was a terrible cracking sound above his head and the
throne broke through the rafters and fell smack on top of the
chief, killing him instantly.
The moral of this story:
People who live in grass houses shouldn’t stow thrones.