The document summarizes that octopuses are often portrayed as fearsome monsters in movies, but in reality they are timid, intelligent animals that are not aggressive towards humans. While octopuses may defend their territory from other octopuses, they generally try to avoid contact with divers and will often become friendly with humans in captivity. Octopuses are also described as sometimes playful and clever based on an anecdote about a laboratory octopus that would sneak out at night to steal fish from another tank until it was caught. The summary concludes that far from being monsters, octopuses are interesting members of the natural world.