The Monkey and the Turtle is a fable about a hungry monkey who meets a turtle. They decide to plant banana trees together, but the monkey's tree fails while the turtle's bears fruit. When the turtle asks for fruit, the monkey eats them all. As revenge, the turtle tricks the monkey into falling from the tree and is killed. The turtle then tricks the other monkeys into eating the dead monkey's meat and drowning themselves trying to catch lobsters.

1. The Monkey and the Turtle

2. A Monkey, looking very
sad and dejected, was
walking along the bank
of the river one day when
he met a turtle.

3. How are
you?
Oh, my friend, I am very hungry. The squash
of Mr. Farmer were all taken by the other
monkeys, and now I am about to die from
want of food.

4. Do not be discouraged, take a
bob and follow me and we
will steal some banana plants.

5. So they walked along together
until they found some nice plants
which they dug up, and then they
looked for a place to set them.
Finally the monkey climbed a tree
and planted his in it, but as the
turtle could not climb he dug a
hole in the ground and set his
there.

6. When their work was finished they
went away, planning what they should
do with their crop. The monkey said:

7. When my tree bears fruit,
I shall sell it and have a
great deal of money.
When my tree bears fruit, I
shall sell it and buy three
varas of cloth to wear in place
of this cracked shell.

8. A few weeks later they went back to the place to see their plants
and found that that of the monkey was dead, for its roots had had no
soil in the tree, but that of the turtle was tall and bearing fruit.

10. I will climb to
the top so that
we can get the
fruit.
Please give me
some to eat,

11. but the monkey threw him only a green one and ate
all the ripe ones himself.

12. When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey stretched his
arms around the tree and went to sleep.

13. The turtle, seeing this, was very angry and considered how he might punish the thief.
Having decided on a scheme, he gathered some sharp bamboo which he all around
under the tree, and then he exclaimed:

14. Crocodile is
coming!
Crocodile is
coming!"

15. Crocodile is
coming!
Crocodile is
coming!"

16. The monkey was so startled at the cry
that he fell upon the sharp bamboo and
was killed.
Then the turtle cut the dead monkey
into pieces, put on it, and dried it in the
sun. The next day, he went to the
mountains and sold his meat to other
monkeys who gladly gave him squash
in return. As he was leaving them he
called back:

17. "Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own
body; you are now eating your own body."
Then the monkeys ran and caught him and
carried to their own home.
Let us take a hatchet," said one old monkey, "and
cut him into very small pieces."
But the turtle laughed and said: "That is just
what I like. I have been struck with a hatchet
many times. Do you not see the black scars on
my shell?"
Then one of the other monkeys said: "Let us
throw him into the water."

18. At this the turtle cried and begged them to
spare his life, but they paid no heed to his
pleadings and threw him into the water. He
sank to the bottom, but very soon came up
with a lobster. The monkeys were greatly
surprised at this and begged him to tell
them how to catch lobsters.
"I tied one end of a string around my
waist," said the turtle.
"To the other end of the string I tied a stone
so that I would sink."

19. The monkeys immediately tied
strings around themselves as the
turtle said, and when all was ready
they plunged into the water never
to come up again.
And to this day monkeys do not
like to eat meat, because they
remember the ancient story.

20. THE
END