The Monkey and the Turtle

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

“How are you?” asked the turtle, noticing that he looked sad.

“Oh, my friend, I am very hungry,” the monkey replied. “The squash of Mr. Farmer were all taken by the other monkeys, and now I am about to die from want of food.”

“No, do not be discouraged,” said the turtle. “Take a bolo and follow me, and we will steal some banana plants.”

So the monkey and the turtle walked together along until they found some nice banana plants, which they dug up. Then they looked for a place to set them. Finally the monkey climbed a tree and planted his banana on a big branch. The turtle could not climb, and so he dug a hole in the ground and set his banana there.

When their work was finished they went away, planning what they should do with their crop. The monkey said, “When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and have a great deal of money.”

And the turtle said, “When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and buy three yards of cloth to wear in place of this cracked shell.”

A few weeks later, they went back to the place to check on their plants and found that that the monkey’s banana was dead, for there was no soil in the tree for its roots to creep into. But the one that the turtle planted on the ground was already tall and bearing fruit.

“I will climb to the top so that we can get the fruit,” said the monkey. And he sprang up the tree, leaving the poor turtle on the ground alone. The monkey started eating the ripe fruits.

“Please give me some to eat,” called the turtle, but the monkey threw him only a green one and ate all the ripe ones himself. When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey stretched his arms around the tree and went to sleep. Seeing this, the turtle got very angry and considered how he might punish the thief.

Having thought of a scheme, the turtle gathered some sharp bamboo which he stuck all around under the tree, and then he yelled, “Crocodile is coming! Crocodile is coming!”

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

As the turtle was leaving he called back, “Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own buddy; you are now eating your own buddy.” Then the monkeys chased and caught up with him. They carried him to their home.

“Give me 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 instead!”

At the suggestion the turtle cried and begged the monkeys to spare his life. But the monkeys ignored his pleadings and threw him into the water. The turtle sank to the bottom, but very soon came up with a lobster.

The monkeys were greatly surprised and begged him to teach them how to catch lobsters.

“I tied one end of a string around my waist,” the turtle told the monkeys. “To the other end of the string I tied a stone so that I would sink.”

The monkeys immediately tied strings around themselves as the turtle had said; and when all was ready, they plunged into the water. None of them came up again.

To this day, monkeys do not like to eat meat, because they remember the old story. They are afraid that it might be one of their buddies.

(Source: http://www.worldoftales.com/Filipino_folktales.html)