Grass Houses

Once upon a time, in a far away land (Africa) there was a king who lived in a grass house.  It was a marvelous grass house, two stories high, and the king was very pleased with it.  He spent his days sitting on the throne, which was on the ground floor, directly below the single large room on the upper floor.

The king was very ambitious.  He wanted to rule over the entire region and proceeded to wage war on the neighboring nations.  His army was well trained and conquered nation after nation.  The commanding general would return home after each success, bringing with him the throne from the captured nation.  The king directed his servants to stow the captured thrones in the second floor room of his grass home. 

Finally, after several years, there was only one nation left to conquer, the most formidable nation of them all.  His army fought hard and long, losing several battles, but eventually winning the war.  The king was delighted, of course.  He ordered his servants to haul the last throne upstairs.  Then, he filled his goblet with a fine wine and resumed his seat, savoring his victories.

But then, tragedy struck.  That last throne was very heavy and when the servants set it down, the floor began to creak and shake.  A split second later, the floor collapsed completely.  The thrones came tumbling down, directly on the king, killing him instantly.

The moral is (you probably knew this was coming): people who live in grass houses should not stow thrones.