The Clever Monkey

Once upon a time, a clever monkey resided on a tree that bore fresh, luscious berries. A day arrived when a crocodile swam up to the tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a very long distance and was extremely exhausted from his journey. The crocodile had been in search of food and was very hungry. On hearing this, the kind monkey offered him a few berries for which the crocodile was very thankful. He asked the monkey if he could visit him again soon for some fruit. The monkey happily agreed. The crocodile came back the next day, and the day after that. Soon, this became a daily ritual and they grew to become good friends. As all friends do, they discussed the goings-on of their lives and confided in each other. The crocodile told the monkey about his wife who lived on the other side of the river. So, the generous monkey offered the crocodile some extra berries to take home for his wife. The crocodile and the monkey continued to grow closer as friends and they ate berries together. The monkey would often give the crocodiles extra berries to take home for his wife. Because of how close the two friends had become, the crocodile’s wife started growing jealous. She wanted to put an end to their friendship. She thought to herself that if the monkey survived on a diet of the tasty berries, his flesh must be really sweet. So, she asked the crocodile to invite his friend over to dinner. The crocodile refused because he knew that his wife was up to some nasty trick. However, she was determined to eat the monkey’s flesh. She pretended to fall ill and told the crocodile that her doctor claims that the only thing that would keep her from dying is a monkey’s heart. On hearing this, the crocodile rushed to the monkey’s tree and lied to him saying that his wife had prepared them a delicious dinner. The monkey happily agreed and climbed onto the crocodile’s back. Halfway through, the monkey noticed that the crocodile began to sink. Frightened, the monkey asked his friend why he was doing that. The crocodile explained the situation truthfully. The clever monkey told him that this was an unfortunate situation because he had left his heart at home. If the crocodile took him back, he would gladly give his heart away to nurse the crocodile’s wife back to health. The silly crocodile fell for the monkey’s clever lie and rushed back to the tree so that he could take the monkey’s heart. As soon as they reached, the monkey hastily scampered up to safety and told the crocodile to tell his wife that she had married a fool!