The chimpanzees did not like getting wet when it rained.
"We should do what the humans do," said one chimpanzee.
"What is that?" asked the others.
"The humans build houses. That is how they stay dry!"
So the chimpanzees went and looked at human houses in the village, and then they built houses for themselves in the forest.
But... they did not know how to use the houses. Instead of sitting inside the house, they sat outside on the roof.
They still got wet when it rained.
"Humans are stupid," the chimpanzees decided. "Their houses do not work after all!"
[a Temne story from Sierra Leone]
Inspired by: "Why Chimpanzees Don't Farm" in Anthropological report on Sierra Leone: Stories (Temne) by Northcote Thomas, 1916.
Notes: You can read the original story online. This is really two stories; the first part is about building a house, and the second part is about farming.
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