The Leopard and the Porcupine's Needles

The Leopard, wanting to prove he was the fiercest animal, decided he needed a magnificent battle-dress. He went to the Porcupine and said, "Friend Porcupine, your needles are sharp and beautiful. Give them to me so I can sew them onto my coat and be the most fearsome warrior of all." The Porcupine refused. "These needles are my only defence. Without them, I will be helpless." The Leopard grew angry and threatened the Porcupine, but the Porcupine shot a dozen sharp quills into the Leopard's nose. The Leopard fled in pain and humiliation. The next day, the Leopard returned, this time with a clever plan. He brought a large pot of delicious-smelling palm-nut soup and offered it to the Porcupine as a peace offering. The Porcupine was suspicious but the soup smelled too good to resist. However, the pot's neck was very narrow. To eat the soup, the Porcupine had to retract all his needles to make himself thin enough to fit his head inside. As soon as he did so, the Leopard pounced on the now-defenceless Porcupine. The moral the Ashanti tell is: Do not give up your only weapon for the sake of a sweet temptation.