The Game of Musical Chairs - The Vote

 

The Badger and the Owl got together to talk about the animals' problems, and they came to realize that they had made a great mistake in deciding to play musical chairs for such high stakes. They decided to hold a meeting of all the animals where they would explain what they thought had gone wrong and call for a vote to change some of the rules of the game. However, the animals who had exploited those rules to gain so much power did not want any of them changed, and unfortunately, it was those powerful animals who were in the best position to persuade the other animals to vote their way.

Almost all of the animals, including the Badger and the Owl, had to keep playing the game to stay alive, but animals like the Wolf and the Vulture and the Snake didn't have to play. Therefore, they were free to circulate among the animals full time giving them reasons why the rules of the game shouldn't be changed. Not only that, but they used a lot of the food they had stored up to pay other animals to spread their arguments through the whole group. In the meantime, the Badger and the Owl had to keep scrambling to play the game, and they did not have nearly as much time or energy to spend spreading their views. And so when the meeting was held and the vote came up, the animals voted not to change any of the rules of the game.

After the vote, the Vulture and the Wolf and the Snake got together to celebrate. They were, to be honest, a little suprised at how easily they had won the vote. They didn't have to threaten anybody, or bribe anybody, or cheat in any way to win. All they had to do was take advantage of their greater resources. They were giddy with the thought of it, as they planned what other votes they might call for to change the rules in ways that would help them win even more food and power from the others.

The End

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