The Monkey and the Crocodile

On the banks of a great river in ancient India, there lived a monkey who spent his days leaping between the branches of a rose apple tree, eating the sweetest fruit in the forest. He was content, clever, and quick.

One day, a crocodile swam up to the bank and looked longingly at the monkey. They began to talk, and before long they had become firm friends. Each day the monkey would toss sweet rose apples into the river, and the crocodile would catch them gratefully.

"My wife would love to taste these apples," the crocodile said one afternoon. So the monkey happily threw down a great pile for him to take home.

But when the crocodile's wife tasted them, her eyes grew wide — not with joy, but with greed. "A monkey who eats such sweet fruit every day," she said, "must have a heart sweeter than honey. Bring me his heart to eat."

The crocodile was horrified, but his wife would not rest until he agreed. So the next morning, he returned to the riverbank wearing a sad smile.

"Monkey, my wife wants to thank you herself," said the crocodile. "Come, I will carry you across the river on my back."

Delighted, the monkey jumped on. But halfway across, the crocodile began to sink. "I must confess," the crocodile said miserably, "my wife wants your heart. I am to drown you."

The monkey's heart hammered — but his mind moved faster than any current.

"My heart!" he cried, laughing. "But dear friend, I left my heart at home in the tree! I always leave it there for safekeeping. Take me back and I will fetch it for you."

The foolish crocodile turned back. The moment they reached the bank, the monkey leapt into the tree and climbed to the very top.

"You should be ashamed," called the monkey. "A true friend never betrays a friend. And a heart is not something that can be left in a tree — for I carry mine with me always."

The crocodile slunk away in shame. And the monkey stayed safely in his tree, wiser than before.