The Unforgiving Monkey

In a certain city was a king named Moon who retained some monkeys in his palace for his son's
amusement. They were fed well and kept happy for the prince. The king also maintained a herd of
rams for his son. One of them was a pest; he entered the kitchen at odd hours and swallowed
everything in sight. The cooks would hit him with sticks and ladles but he never learned.
When the chief of monkeys observed this, he reflected, " Dear me! If the ram continues to quarrel
with the cooks, it will spell destruction for all the monkeys. The ram keeps getting hit by the cooks.
What if they find nothing else some day and beat him with a fire brand? The rain would
instantaneously catch fire. If he then runs into the stable nearby, all the horses there will be scorched.
The veterinarian would prescribe monkey fat to relieve the horses of their burns. And that would spell
death for all of us.”
Having reached this conclusion, he assembled all the monkeys and said:

“A quarrel of the ram and cooks

Has lately come about;
It threatens every monkey life
Without a shade of doubt.
Because, If senseless quarrels rend
A house from day to day
The folk who wish to keep alive
Had better move away.
For quarrels end a happy home;

And slander, friendship's story;

While evil kings their kingdoms end;
And meanness , manly glory .

Let us therefore leave the house and take to the woods before we are all killed."
But the conceited monkeys laughed at his warning and said, "Oho! You are old and are losing your
mind. Your words prove it. We have no intention of giving up the delicacies that the prince feeds us
with his own hand. Life in the forest is dreadful!”
The monkey chief grimaced and said, "Come on! You are fools. You are unable to think matters
through. The state of affairs is sweet now but could turn into poison later. In any case, I am off to the
forest. As the proverb says:
Blest are they who do not see
Death upon the family,
Friend in trouble, stolen wife,
Ruin of the nation's life.”

With these words the chief left them all behind and departed for the forest.
One day after he had left, the ram entered the kitchen. Finding nothing else handy, the cook picked a
blazing firebrand and hit him. With half his body blazing, he rushed into the stable nearby. There he
rolled on the ground and the entire stable, made of thatch, was up in flames. Of the Horses tethered
there some died and some were burned.
In this state of affairs, the saddened king summoned his veterinary surgeons and said, "Prescribe some
relief for my horses." Recalling what they had learned in school, they said, “O King , monkey - fat is
the recommended prescription to free the horses from the pain of burns . Please bring us monkey - fat
in large quantities; otherwise the horses will perish.”
The king immediately ordered the slaughter of the monkeys. They were all killed.
The monkey chief who could not bear to see this outrage perpetrated on his kith and kin, nevertheless
heard of what had transpired, through word of mouth . As the proverb says:

If foes commit an outrage on

A house, and one forgives-
Be it from fear or greed- he is
The meanest man that lives.

As the elderly monkey wandered about thirsty he came to a lake full of beautiful lotuses. As he
observed closely, he noticed footprints leading into the lake but none coming out. Thereupon he
reflected," There must be some vicious beast that lives in this water. I will stay at a distance and drink
through a hollow lotus-stalk."
When he had done so, there emerged from the water a man eating fiend with a pearl necklace on his
neck. He said, "Sir, I eat everyone who enters the water. You are indeed shrewd to think of this
unique way to drink water. I have taken a liking to you. Name your heart's desire.”
"Sir," said the monkey, "how many can you eat?" The fiend replied, "I can eat hundreds and
thousands of creatures if they enter the water. But outside water, even a jackal can overpower
me.”

“And I,” said the monkey, "I am dying to take revenge on a king . If you give me your pearl necklace,
I will arouse his greed somehow and will that king enter this lake along with all his followers." And
the fiend handed over the pearl necklace to the monkey chief.
The people of the kingdom then began spotting the monkey roaming over trees and palace roofs with
a pearl necklace adorning his throat and they asked him , " Well , chief , where were you all this
while? Where did you get a pearl necklace like this? Its beauty is dazzling."
The monkey answered, "In a quiet spot in the forest is a well hidden lake, a creation of the god of
wealth himself. Through his grace, if anyone bathes there at sunrise on a Sunday, he emerges with a
pearl necklace on his neck. "
Word reached the king and he summoned the monkey and asked him, “Is this true chief ?” “O King,”
said the monkey, “the matchless pearl necklace around my neck is visible proof of this. If you send
someone with me, I can show him this miracle first – hand.”
On hearing this, the king said, “In light of these facts, I will come myself with my followers, so that
we may acquire several such necklaces.” “O King,” said the monkey, “that's a brilliant idea.”
So the king and his followers started for the lake immediately, greedy to acquire the pearl necklaces.
The king gave the monkey à tight hug and honored him all along the way. There is wisdom in the
saying:
The educated and the rich,
Befooled by greed,
Plunge into wickedness, then feel
The pinch of need.
The hair grows old with aging years;
The teeth grow old, the eyes and ears.
But while the aging seasons speed,
One thing is young forever greed.

At dawn they reached the lake and the monkey said to the king ," O King , fulfillment comes to those
who enter at sunrise . Please inform all your attendants; so they may all enter at the same moment .
You must enter with me, for I will show you the exact spot where I entered before . "So all the
attendants entered first and were eaten by the fiend.
As they waited the king said to the monkey, " Well, chief, why do my attendants linger under water?
"And the monkey hurriedly climbed a tree before saying to the king, " You villainous king, your
attendants have been eaten by a fiend who lives in the water. I have finally avenged the horror that
you perpetrated on my family. Leave now. I prevented you from entering the lake since you are the
king. So just as you plotted the death of my kith and kin, I destroyed your followers."
The king then returned to his palace, grief-stricken. When the king had gone, the fiend, fully satisfied,
emerged from the water and gleefully recited the verse:
Very good, my monkey - o!
You won a friend and killed a foe,
And kept the pearls without a flaw,
By sucking water through a straw.

Principle:
Greedy people who do not carefully analyze the consequences of their deeds are sure to
inflict suffering upon themselves.