couldn’t take it any longer and dared to step out among them.

“How dare you!” bellowed the ignorant chief, but the clever old woman ignored him and quickly set to work. First, she soaked rope in salt water and then dried it. When the villagers set the rope on fire, it burned away, but the ash remained in the shape of a rope. Next, she put honey at one end of a log and an ant tied with silk thread at the other end. The ant raced through the log, pulling the thread behind it. Lastly, she opened one side of a drum and sealed a bumblebee inside. As the bee beat against the sides of the drum to escape, the drum played without being tapped on top.

When the ignorant chief saw how clever the old woman was, he hung his head in shame for having treated old people so unfairly. By then, darkness had fallen and Lord Higa and his warriors returned, ready to destroy the village. But when they saw that all three impossible tasks had been completed, they were astonished.

“Fair is fair,” said Lord Higa. “Clearly everyone in this village deserves to be treated with respect.”

“Yes, everyone deserves to be treated with respect,” said the clever old woman firmly, as she stared intently at the chief.

So Lord Higa left and never again bothered the village, the ignorant chief changed his ways, and the old people came back down from the mountain. As for the clever old woman, she went on being clever for many, many years.