The Monkey and the Crocodile

Once upon a time there was a clever monkey who lived by the river Ganga. A crocodile and his wife lived in the same river. One day, the crocodile’s wife fell very ill. She wanted to eat something special. She asked her husband to get her a monkey’s heart. The crocodile did not know what to do. Then he thought of his neighbour, the monkey. He said, “Friend Monkey, why do you waste your time eating the fruits of this tree? There are juicy fruits on the other side of the river.” When the monkey said that the river was too big for him to cross, the crocodile offered to take him on his back. After a while, the crocodile sank in the water along with the monkey. He told the monkey that his wife was sick and wanted his heart. The monkey realised that he had been foolish to trust the crocodile. He quickly thought of a clever plan to escape. He said, “Alas friend! Our hearts are not inside us. We have to keep them hanging on trees. I wish you had told me earlier. Let’s go back and bring my heart.” The crocodile believed the monkey and brought him back to the tree. The monkey at once climbed up the tree and escaped. He said to the crocodile, “You have a big body but no brains!” The crocodile had nothing to do but repent for his foolishness on being tricked by the monkey.