Anansi and the Chief's Stool

The Chief of the village had a magnificent stool, carved from a single piece of wood, which was the symbol of his authority. Anansi the Spider coveted the stool and wanted to become chief himself. He devised a plan. He went to the Queen of the Termites and said, "Great Queen, the Chief insults you. He says your children are weak and your teeth are no stronger than sand." The Queen of the Termites was furious. "How dare he! We will show him our strength!" Anansi, pretending to be helpful, said, "I have an idea. Tonight, lead your children to the Chief's stool and chew it from the inside, leaving only a thin outer shell. When he sits on it tomorrow, it will collapse, and he will be shamed before the whole village." The Termites agreed and did as Anansi said. The next day, during a great assembly, the Chief went to sit on his stool. As Anansi had planned, it crumbled into dust beneath him. The people gasped. Anansi stepped forward and shouted, "Our Chief is so weak, even his stool rejects him! He is no longer fit to rule!" But the Chief's son had seen Anansi speaking with the Termites. He stepped forward and revealed Anansi's plot. When the people understood the deception, they were enraged. They seized Anansi and banished him to the very tops of the houses, to live in the dusty rafters, forever far from the seat of power he so deviously coveted.