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Think about a time you had a problem, and somebody stepped in to help you solve it.

In today's tale, we'll meet a man who believes he can solve every problem on his own.

And that, it turns out, is the root of the problem.

I'm Rebecca Sheer and welcome to Circle Round, where story time happens all the time.

Today our story is called the cleverest person in the room.

We found versions of this tale from Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean Sea,

and Chile, a country on the western edge of South America.

Some really great people came together to bring you our adaptation of this tale, including Vanessa Aspiaga, whom

you kids might recognize as the witch in Dora saves the Snow Princess.

You grown-ups may know Vanessa from only murders in the building on Hulu and leave the world behind on Netflix.

So circle around everyone for the cleverest person in the room. Once upon a time there was a town by the sea.

The town was run by a mayor who spent his days creating laws, writing speeches, and balancing budgets.

He also acted as the town and judge.

Hearing cases and settling disputes brought forth by his constituents,

the people he represented and served.

The mayor was a busy man, so busy that he often didn't leave his office in town hall until well into the evening.

...