The Elephant and the Ant's House

The Elephant, walking through the forest, saw a beautifully constructed house. It was the house of the Ant. The Elephant, being arrogant, scoffed. "How can such a tiny creature build such a fine house?" he said, and with a single kick, he destroyed the anthill. The next day, the Elephant saw that the house had been completely rebuilt, even stronger than before. He destroyed it again. This happened day after day. Finally, the King of the Ants had enough. He sent a single soldier ant to deal with the Elephant. The tiny ant crawled up the Elephant's leg, into his trunk, and all the way up into his brain. There, it began to bite. The pain was immense and maddening. The Elephant thrashed about, trumpeting in agony, but he could not get the ant out. He was driven completely mad by an enemy too small to see and too deep to reach. The story teaches a lesson central to Yoruba thought: it is not size or strength that matters most, but strategy and the ability to get to the core of a problem. Even the greatest power can be brought down by the smallest, most persistent, and well-placed foe.