One
day a monkey wanted to cross a river. He saw a crocodile in the river, so he
asked the crocodile to take him across the other side. The crocodile told the
monkey to jump on its back. Then the crocodile swam down the river.
Now, the crocodile was very hungry, so when it was in the middle of the river, it stopped and said to the monkey, ”Monkey, my father is very sick. He must eat the heart of the monkey. Then he will be strong again.”
The monkey thought for a while. Then he told the crocodile to swim back to the river bank.
“What’s for?” asked the crocodile.
“Because I didn’t bring my heart with me,” said the monkey. “I left it under the tree, near some coconuts.”
So, the crocodile turned around and swam back to the bank of the river. As soon as they reached the river bank, the monkey jumped off the crocodile’s back and climbed up to the top of a tree.
“Where is your heart?” asked the crocodile.
“You are foolish,” the monkey said to the crocodile. “Now I am free and you have nothing.”
The monkey told the crocodile not to try to fool him again. The crocodile swam away, hungry.
