Pre-colonial Fable. The monkey is a common animal character in Philippine fables.

It is often
depicted as a cunning animal.
The Monkey and the Crocodile (A Tagalog Fable)
One day, a monkey saw a tall Macopa tree laden with ripe fruits, which stood by a wide river. It was
hungry, so it climbed the tree and ate all of the fruits. When it climbed down, it could find no means by
which to cross the river. Then it saw a young crocodile who had just woken up from its siesta. It said
to the crocodile in a friendly way, “My dear crocodile, will you do me a favor?”
The crocodile was greatly surprised by the monkey’s amicable salutation. So, it answered humbly,
“Oh, yes! If there is anything I can do for you, I shall be glad to do it.” The monkey then told the
crocodile that it wanted to get to the other side of the river. Then the crocodile said, “I’ll take you there
with all my heart. Just sit on my back, and we’ll go at once.”
The monkey sat firmly on the crocodile’s back, and they began to move. In a short while they reached
the middle of the stream. Then the crocodile began to laugh aloud. “You foolish monkey!” it said, “I’ll
eat your liver and kidneys, for I’m very hungry.” The monkey became nervous. Trying to conceal its
anxiety, it said, “I’m very glad that you mentioned the matter. I thought myself that you might be
hungry, so I have prepared my liver and kidneys for your dinner. Unfortunately, in our haste to depart,
I left them hanging on the Macopa tree. Let us return, and I’ll get them for you.”
Convinced that the monkey was telling the truth, the crocodile turned around and swam back to the
direction of the Macopa tree. When they got near the riverbank, the monkey nimbly jumped up onto
the land and scampered up the tree. The crocodile came to realize what happened and said, “I am a
fool.”