The Two Cats and the Monkey

Chandru was a cat in the village of Rajpur. He had lived in the village ever since he was a small kitten.  The village was the home to many milkmen.  The milkmen raised cows which gave them their milk.  They also made cheese and other milk products which they sold in the neighbouring villages.  Chandru was a feral cat which meant that he did not have a home.  He lived in the streets.

He hunted mice and other small animals in the night.  Every now and then, if he was lucky, he would get to have a drink of milk or a tasty piece of cheese.    Even then he had to be careful, for the milkmen considered cats to be pests which robbed them of their milk.  If the milkmen found Chandru or other cats in their room, they would beat them with sticks and drive them out.  Chandru had been beaten like this many a time.

Chandru’s home was a hollow in the trunk of a tree outside the village.  He would sleep during the day when the sun was hot.  Like most cats, he hunted in the night.  Once it was dark, Chandru would leave his home and prowl amongst the streets.  There he would stealthily lurk in the corners on the lookout for mice which may be scampering around in the streets.  Chandru, like all cats, had excellent night vision.  His eyes could see even in very little light.  They would gleam like jewels in the darkness.  If he was lucky, Chandru would catch a mouse during the night. But not always, there were nights where Chandru caught nothing and went hungry.

Sometimes, Chandru would steal in to one of the houses in search of food.  One night as he was going on one of his nightly visits in search of food.  He happened to enter the house of a milkman through a window which had been left open.  As he stealthily moved around the house, he smelt the fresh smell of cheese nearby.  Chandru was happy.  He followed the scent and soon reached the cheese.  It was a large piece of cheese and he had not eaten well in days.  He approached the cheese carefully.  He would carry it away and eat it in peace.

As he approached the cheese, he heard an angry snarl.  Chandru was surprised to see another cat in the room.  It was Billu, his sworn enemy.  He had had many fights with that cat.  Billu lived in the same village.  It was only two weeks back when Billu and Chandru had fought over a rat which both of them claimed to have caught.

Chandru was disappointed and angry.  He wanted to fight with Billu to settle the issue of the cheese.  However, he knew that if they fought, the people in the house would wake up and they would have to abandon the cheese.  So he signalled to the other cat that they would each share a piece of the cheese and he carried the cheese outside the house with the other cat closely following him.
Once outside, they set about dividing the piece of cheese.  The cheese was in a very odd shape.  Hence, dividing it was difficult.  Chandru managed to cut the cheese in two pieces and gave one to Billu.  Billu, though, would not have it as he felt that he was being cheated.  Chandru would not allow Billu to divide the cheese.   The two cats squabbled over the cheese for a long time.  It was nearing daybreak.
A monkey was watching all this from a nearby tree.  The monkey was cunning.  It carefully climbed down the tree and went up to the cats.  He asked what the matter was.   The cats told him the story of how they had found the cheese and their difficulty in dividing it.  The wily monkey was pleased.  He told the cats that he would divide the cheese into two pieces. 

The monkey divided the cheese into two and placed them before the cats.  The pieces were not equal.  The monkey had intentionally made it so.  The two cats were not satisfied with the result.  The monkey quickly bit off a small part from the bigger piece and then placed the two pieces before the cats.  Now the bitten piece was smaller than the other.  The two silly cats were again not satisfied.  The monkey now bit the other piece to make it smaller.  Now, that piece had become smaller than the other.   The two cats could still not understand the monkey’s trick.

The monkey kept playing his game on the unsuspecting cats until very two pieces of cheese remained.  They cats suddenly realised the monkey’s trick.  They realised how stupid they had been in trusting the monkey.  They wanted to pounce on the monkey.  But, the clever monkey quickly jumped back onto the tree branches to safety.  The two cats were left with two very small pieces of cheese.

Children, this story teaches us to be broadminded and generous in our dealings with others.

The Greedy Monkey

Once upon a time, there was a forest in the southern part of India.  The forest was thick and mountainous.  It was home to dozens of different animals and birds.  There were also many other monkeys in the forests.

The monkeys made their home in the branches of the many tall trees in the forests.  They ate the fruits which grew in the trees.  They spent most of their time in the trees.  They scarcely came down except when they had to drink.  They drank water from a small stream which wound its way through the forest.

The monkeys moved around in groups.  Changu was one of these monkeys.  He lived along with the others in the forest.    However, he was very greedy.  He would always keep looking for things to eat.  He never shared anything he found with his fellow monkeys.

While the other monkeys would stop eating when they had had enough, Changu would eat even after his stomach was full.  If he saw any young or weak monkey with a banana or any other fruit.  He would pounce on the helpless creature and snatch its food from its hands.  No other monkey dared to stop him.  Changu was big and hefty in build.

One day, a hunter came to the forest.  This hunter specialized in trapping monkeys.  He would sell those monkeys to zoos where they would be kept as exhibits for the people to see.  Sometimes, he sold monkeys to circuses as well.  At circuses, the poor monkeys would be trained to perform tricks and antics to please the spectators.

It was indeed a cruel sight.  To see these free creatures of the forest either imprisoned in zoos or made to perform tricks.    The hunter had come today to the forest to catch a few monkeys.  He hoped to catch some big ones.  Big monkeys were the ones the zoo owners preferred.  They were ready to pay a handsome price for them.

The hunter set up his trap.  It was an ingenious trap.  It was not a cage like other traps.  It was a small bottle which was chained to a tree.    It did not look like a trap at all from first appearances.
Changu had few friends in the forest.  Few animals wanted to keep company with such a selfish and ill-mannered creature.  Changu did not mind.  He wanted his way and he had it.

Meanwhile, the hunter had set up his ingenious trap.   It was evening, when Changu reached his tree with the fruits.  He carefully put the fruits he had collected that day in the hollow of the tree trunk.  The place was a closely guarded secret.  Changu looked around and he saw the new bottle.  The bottle was made of metal.  He went near to inspect the strange bottle.  The bottle was open.  It had a large neck.  Curious, Changu put his hand into the bottle.

The neck was narrow.  He could barely squeeze his hand inside.  As he felt his way inside, he felt small nuts inside.  He felt them over.  He was overjoyed.  They were indeed nuts.  And what more! They were cashew nuts.  He was delighted.  He had eaten cashew nuts a long time back.  They were rare in the forest.

 He tried to take them.  It was then that he discovered the problem.  His hand would not come out with the nuts.  The neck of the bottle was designed such that only an empty hand of the monkey could pass through.  He had managed to squeeze his palm inside when it was empty.  But his palm full of nuts was too big to come out.

He tried to tilt the bottle down.  He could not as the bottle was fixed to a tree trunk by a metal pipe.  He looked around.  There was no one.  He waited and thought.  How could he abandon the cashew nuts?  It was then that the saw a slight rustle among the nearby bushes.  A hunter ran towards him with a spear and a net in his hand.

Changu was alarmed.  He wanted to run but his hand was trapped.  He could have dropped the nuts inside the bottle and withdrawn his empty hand out.  But he did not have the heart to do so.  He was too greedy for that.

The hunter came closer and closer.  Changu still held on to his bottle and the nuts.  In no time, a net fell upon him.  He was trapped.  The hunter called out to his friends who were also in hiding.  They came and bundled Changu into a waiting vehicle.  He was thus led to a life of captivity.

Children, the moral of this story is that Greed leads to Destruction.  Changu could have taken out his hand from the bottle.  But he was not in a mood to let go of the nuts.     There are many people who go after easy riches and get entangled in various troubles.  We need to be happy and thankful for what we have.

The Wise Elephant and the Greedy Monkey

Once upon a time there lived a wise elephant in a  forest.  The forest was huge and spread over many hundreds of acres with plants and animals of all kinds. 

The forest was a  paradise where all the animals lived in harmony under the benevolent rule of the Elephant. The animals of the forest loved and adored the elephant.  They looked upon the elephant as a father-figure.  The elephant, for his part, saw all the inhabitants of the forest as his own children.

One day a monkey entered the forest.   He had lived in another forest.  He found a home in one of the tree branches.  He was a cunning and a greedy creature.

The monkey  was jealous of the elephant and the respect he commanded.  He imagined himself as the ruler of the forest with all other animals paying homage to him.

The monkey went about the forest spreading rumours about the elephant.   He said that the elephant was greedy and only cared about himself.

The rumours spread through the forest.  They soon reached the Elephant’s ears.  The elephant was pained to hear them.  He had always considered himself to be a servant of the forest and its inhabitants.

He knew that his reputation was at stake.  It was only a matter of time before more people started to believe him.  He thought for a while and hit upon a wise plan.

A few days later, the elephant summoned all the inhabitants of the forest.  He asked all the animals to assemble in a open field in the middle of the jungle.

On the day of the meeting, the animals gathered together at the appointed place.  The shrewd monkey was also there.

The elephant began, ”Friends, I have been in this forest for many years.  I have tried to do my best to you.   I have been your friend and guide.   But now, there are rumours about my integrity and my character.  Some say that I am greedy and hungry for power.  I have all along acted as a servant of the forest and its dwellers.”  The other animals began to feel sorry for the elephant.  They knew that everything that the elephant said was true.

The elephant continued, “So, Friends!  Today I have decided to relinquish my authority over this forest to this monkey who desires my office.”  All eyes now turned on the monkey who was surprised by the sudden attention.

The elephant looked at the monkey.  “Friend”, he said, “I offer to step aside for you.  But before that I want you to specify what area you wish to rule over.  Our forest is huge and broad.  I suggest that you run around the forest over each area over which you want to govern.  Whatever area you cover during your run will be yours.” he said.  The monkey was pleased.   The other animals were also sad that their ruler for so many years was planning to step aside.  Some were angry at the insolence of the monkey.  But all agreed that the task was fair and were ready to give the monkey a chance.

The next day the animals assembled at the field at daybreak.  The monkey was there.  He planned to run all over the forest to stake his claim to rule.   The monkey began by running over the nearby river bank.  He then ran across the small hill which lay nearby and the marshes and the ravines and the thickets.

He was tired but would not rest.  He wanted to stake his claim to as large a territory as possible.  It was noon.  The monkey kept running. He could hardly breathe.  He did not pause even to eat or to turn back.

Dusk was turning into darkness and soon it was night.  The other animals  had been waiting the whole day for the monkey to return.  But there was no sign of the monkey.

The next day, the sun rose.  There was no sign of the monkey. Some time later, a pair of geese who were flying by told of a monkey who was lying motionless on the ground a few miles away.

The Elephant and the other animals quickly made their way to the location.  They found the monkey on the ground.  They lifted the monkey off the ground.  They were happy to find that it was still alive.  It had fainted out of exhaustion.

The elephant went to a nearby stream filled his trunk with water and sprayed it on the unconscious monkey.  The monkey slowly revived.  After he had drunk some water and had had some food, he realized where he was.

In his greed for more land, he had worked himself almost to the point of death.  He realized his folly.    He apologized to the elephant who was happy that the monkey had learnt his lesson.  The kind elephant hoisted him on his back and carried him back to his home.

Calm and tranquility returned to the forest and the monkey lived in peace with the other animals for many many years.

Children, this story teaches us not be greedy for power.  A leader is to serve the people.  A person who is greedy can never be a good leader.