Wise Monkey

Morale: Keep Calm, Keep Calm, Get Out of Adversity.

Once upon a time there lived a wise monkey in a fruit-bearing tree. One day a crocodile swam up to the tree and told the monkey that he had walked a very long distance and was exhausted. The crocodile was looking for food and was very hungry. Hearing this, the friendly monkey offered him some berries. The crocodile was very grateful. He asked the monkey if he could come back for some fruit soon. The monkey happily agreed.

Crocodile came back the next day and the day after that. This soon became a daily ritual and they became good friends. Like all friends, they discussed their lives and confided in each other. The crocodile told the monkey about his wife who lived across the river. So the generous monkey offered the crocodile some extra berries to take home for his wife.

The crocodile and the monkey became friends and ate berries together. The monkey would often give the crocodile extra berries to take home for his wife. The crocodile's wife became jealous because the two friends became so close. She wanted to end their friendship. She thought that if the monkey survived by eating delicious berries, the meat must be really sweet. So she asked Crocodile to invite her friends to dinner. Crocodile knew his wife was malicious, so she refused. But she decided to eat monkey meat.

She pretended to be sick and told the crocodile that the doctor said the only thing that would keep her from dying was the monkey's heart. When the crocodile heard this, he ran to the monkey tree and lied that his wife had cooked him a delicious dinner. The monkey happily agreed and got on the crocodile's back. On the way the monkey noticed that the crocodile was starting to sink. The frightened monkey asked his friend why he was doing this. The crocodile explained the situation honestly.

The Wise Monkey told him that this was an unfortunate situation because he had left his heart at home. If the crocodile brings him back, he will gladly offer his heart to restore the crocodile's wife to health. The stupid crocodile fell for the monkey's clever lie and rushed back to the tree to steal the monkey's heart. As soon as they arrived, the monkey rushed to safety and challenged the crocodile, telling his wife that he had married a fool!