The lizards with whom the chameleon shared his tree taunted him, making his life unbearable. He went to his friend, the egret, and said, "Help me, Egret! The lizards are so mean to me!"
"Don't worry," said the egret, giving the chameleon some leaves to chew. "These leaves will give you the power to hide by changing your color," he explained, "and you'll be able to produce poison."
The chameleon went back to his tree. The lizards could no longer see him, and he killed so many lizards with his poison that they went to live in the village instead.
Inspired by: "The Chameleon's Power of Changing Color" in The way we lived: Ibo customs and stories by Rems Nna Umeasiegbu, 1969.
Notes: You can read the original story online. The story mentions that King Lizard summons the chameleon, but the chameleon simply refused to go.
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