There was once a tribe of people living on an island in the south pacific.
The King of the tribe possessed a great throne made from the rarest kinds
of wood. The throne was so old no one in the tribe knew when or where the
throne had been made, and it was the one priceless thing the tribe
possessed.
The King had the responsibility of keeping
the irreplaceable throne safe, and he had a special building of clay to
keep it in. The rest of the village huts were constructed of reeds and
palm leaves. One year the King decided that the throne building needed
renovations, but he was unsure what to do with the throne while the
renovations were done. He called for his most trusted advisor and asked
him if he would safeguard the throne until the repairs were done.
The advisor agreed, not wanting to anger the
King, and the King explained that if anything happened to the precious
throne his life would be forfeit. The advisor decided that the best way to
keep the throne safe was to put it in his house and watch it night and
day, and so he had the throne moved to his house.
As luck would have it a few nights later the
village had a great celebration with much dancing around a huge fire. The
fire got out of control and several of the huts were burnt to the ground,
including the one belonging to the King's advisor.
Which just goes to prove . . . People who
live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones!
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