That was once a great king in west Africa. He had many wives and many daughters but only one son. The king loved his son so much that he gave the boy everything. At the age of six the prince had his own house. He had exquisite clothes and his arms and ears jingled with gold and silver. The prince was carried around in the chair . He didn’t walk unless he felt like it.
The king made his son the king of all the children in his kingdom. Because there were more children than adults in the kingdom, the son had more subjects than the father. unfortunately all the things his father gave him did not satisfy the prince. The more he had the more he wanted.
every day the little prince would hold counsel in the marketplace. He would make all the children of the village sit very still before him and watch him eat his lunch.
Then they would have to sit very still and watch him get his face washed. Then they would have to watch the little prince take a nap in the sun. The children were not allowed to leave until they were dismissed. None of the children liked the prince. One day the prince announced “I am the greatest child who ever lived and I have everything”.
A little girl sitting in the marketplace had had enough of the prince. She stood up and said “no you don’t you don’t have everything” . “Yes I do” the haughty print replied “tell me something I do not have”. “You don’t have the moon” she sneered. When they heard that the other children burst out laughing.
at first the prince was out raged. Then he realize the little girl was right. He did not have the moon. He dismissed his subjects and stomped off to find his father. He marched right up to him and said, “Father, I want the moon”. His father just looked at him . “You are joking”. “No”. The prince was annoyed. “I am not joking . I want the moon.”
The king shook his head. “I cannot give you the moon“. No one has ever said no to the prince. The little boy was shocked. Then he closed his eyes, clenched his fist‘s, and began to wail. Large tears ran down his brown cheeks. “If you don’t give me the moon,“ he screamed at the top of his lungs, “I will sit in my house for the rest of my life! I will refuse to talk or eat! I will be miserable for the rest of my days!“ He ran to his house.
The king was worried. He did not want to song to be miserable. He call the wise people of the village together and said, “You must find a way to get the moon for my son.”
The wise people staring at one another. “Sir,“ One of the most with respect, “are you making a joke?“
“No.“ The king was rather annoyed. “I am not joking! Get the moon for my son! He is miserable without it.“
One of the wise people leaned forward. “Consider, sir. Your son is a young, healthy boy. Surely he will get over this in time. Besides, what you ask is rather serious. The gods put the moon in the sky for a reason. I think it would be wise to leave it up there.“
The king folded his arms. “My son is the most important thing upon this earth! If he wants the moon, he must have it!“ The king would not be swayed. So the wise ones begin planning how to get the moon. After much debate they came up with an idea.
“Sir, if you want the moon, this is what you must do. All the Warriors in your kingdom must work together for the next 10 years building a scaffolding to the sky. At the end of those 10 years you must climb to the top of that scaffolding. during the deepest part of the night the moon will pass right over your head. All you have to do is reach up and pull it out of the sky.“
The king was very pleased with his wise people. He walked away, ignoring the warnings they shouted after him. For the next 10 years everyone in the kingdom devoted their energy to building a scaffolding to the sky. The wise people kept hoping that the Prince would lose interest in the moon as he grew older or that the king would come to his senses. Neither of those things happened.
at the end of the 10 years the king, the prince, and all the people from the kingdom climbed onto the scaffolding. At the deepest part of the night the moon passed right over their heads, and the king reached up his hands. Everyone held their breath as he touched the moon.
“AACH!” The king yelped, and drew back his hands. He blew on his palms to cool them. The king turned to his son. “You cannot have the moon. It is too hot.“
The principle is now young man of 16. He was strong, spoiled, and stubborn. If you cannot tell someone what to do when he is six, you have no hope when he turns sixteen. “I have been waiting for the moon for 10 years !“ he hissed. “I will have it ! “. The prince reached out and grabbed the moon. Smoke curled from his hands as he pulled with all his might.
without warning, the moon broke. Pieces of her Moonrock shower down on the people. The scaffolding burst into flame. The king, his son, and all of their subjects began falling to the earth.Everyone surely would have died if it had not been for the gods. The God South Africa took pity on all those foolish people and cook them in their hands. They let them live, but to punish them for trying to undo what the gods themselves at done, they turned all the people into monkeys you can see their descendants all over the world swinging through the trees. They are there as a warning to other foolish people.
Once upon a time a king in Africa ruled over a huge country. Each year the king climbed to the top of the tallest mountain in the land to look at all he owned. He felt proud. The king was just and generous, and he was happy too, but never was he as happy as the day his wife gave birth to his first son. The boy grew quickly. He was tall and strong, and his father gave him everything he wanted. The prince was even given the power to rule over all the children of the kingdom. But the more the prince was given, the more he wanted to have. Whenever he saw anything he wanted, he begged his father to give it to him. And the king didn't have the heart to say no to the boy. So the prince became selfish and careless and greedy. He was a braggart and a bully, too, for he knew his father would never say no to his desires. Soon the people began to grumble. "No good will come of this," they muttered. Still, they loved their king, and they hoped all would turn out for the best. One day the prince's friends grew tired of his boasts. "You don't own everything," they said to the prince. "And what is it I don't have?" the prince asked. The boys looked up in the sky. "The moon!" one of the boys shouted. The prince at once ran to his father. "I want you to give me the moon," he demanded. The king chuckled. "No one can own the moon," he said, but the prince stomped his feet. "You told me we own everything that we can see. I see the moon." "Yes, I did tell you that," the king said, and he looked unhappily up at the moon. "Fine," said the prince. "If you don't get the moon for me, I don't want to live." When the king heard this, he was alarmed. His son must live. His son would one day rule the land. The king so loved his son that he relented. "I will get you the moon," he said. That night the king gathered his wise men. "I must get the moon for my son," the king said. The wise men were puzzled, but they agreed they would try. They all agreed but for one man who begged his king to reconsider. "Don't anger the gods," said this man, but the king remained firm. "Find a way to get to the moon," he commanded. And so the country's wise men and the best thinkers and builders gathered to discuss the matter. At last they decided they could build a stairway to the moon. The work began. Every able man in the country was put to work chopping trees to make logs to build the stairway to the moon. Work continued night and day. Within days the stairway began to rise. Each day it rose higher. Day after day the work continued, and after several months no one could see the top. People came from everywhere to gaze at the amazing stairway and to talk about the king's plan. "Magnificent," people exclaimed at the sight. Everyone was fascinated but for the one wise man who had first warned the king. He tried once more. "Your majesty, please stop the stairway. We must not touch the moon." Still the king would not listen. "I will do as I wish," he declared, and so the wise man packed his family into a canoe and traveled by water away from his land. He grieved as he paddled away, for he knew no good could come of the king's foolish notion. The king, meanwhile, grew more and more excited as the stairway grew. At last one of the men came down from the top and announced that they had reached the moon. The king was overjoyed. "I will go now and fetch the moon for my son," he said. He and his son and the chief builder began to climb. Up and up and up they climbed, higher and higher. Now, when they looked down they could see not only their country but the whole continent of Africa. "This is all mine now!" the prince shouted. The king sighed unhappily. "I suppose that is so." The moon glowed faintly as they climbed closer to it. Finally, just as the sun set and the moon grew brighter, the king reached the top of the stairway. The moon was just inches away. The king stepped gingerly onto the platform and reached out to gently tap the moon. He pushed lightly, trying to loosen its hold in the sky. A few moments later the prince reached the top. "Get me the moon now!" the prince cried, and so the king leaned against the moon with all his strength. Down below the people saw the moon begin to sway. They cheered. Then the people down below heard a huge crack as the king's shoulder burst through the soft crust of the moon. When this happened, the moon split wide open. Flames shot from its surface, setting the wooden stairway on fire. Down on the ground, the people saw the fire blazing. "Run!" they cried. They ran in every direction, but as they ran, their bodies began to shrink. Tails sprouted behind them, and fur covered their bodies. The moon in its wrath had transformed them all into animals. Out on the water, the wise man wept and shook his head, and when he and his family looked up at the moon, they saw the dark spots left in the places where the king's shoulder had broken through. Never again did anyone try to steal the moon