The Turtle and the Monkey

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, on a large island in the Pacific Ocean, where the weather was always hot, a turtle sat sunning himself on the bank of a river. As he lounged there, he noticed something floating downstream towards him.

A Floating Mystery

“What could it be?” he wondered to himself. “It looks large and brown, floating like a log. I’ve heard of crocodiles that look similarly large and brown and float in the water like a log. They have lots of teeth and gobble you up quickly if they catch you. I wonder whether this is a crocodile or just a log?”

He watched the brown object float closer and soon realized it was not just a log but, rather, a tree, as he could see green leaves on top.

The Banana Tree

“I believe it’s a banana tree,” he exclaimed to himself. “Yum, yum! I do love bananas.”

Excitedly, he plunged into the river, swam to the tree, and pulled it ashore. To his disappointment, there were no bananas on the tree, but the turtle decided to plant it and wait for bananas to grow.

The Philippine Islands

Far away, in the Pacific Ocean, lies a group of islands known as the Philippine Islands, where this story unfolds. It is very hot there, and many monkeys live among the trees, chattering and keeping cool in the shade. Big turtles reside on these islands too; they prefer the water and make it their home.

Seeking Help

A monkey sat nearby. “Monkey,” called the turtle. “I want to plant this banana tree so that I can eat the bananas when they grow. Please, come and help me.”

“Ah!” said the monkey. “There will be a lot of hard digging to do. I will only help you if you give me half of the tree first.” “It’s silly to cut a tree in half,” protested the turtle. “Give me a hand to plant it, and you can have some of the bananas when they grow. I’m not greedy; I don’t want them all.” “If I don’t get half, I won’t dig,” replied the monkey. Reluctantly, the turtle agreed, and they cut the tree in half. The monkey was rather impulsive and didn’t think things through. He looked at the two halves of the tree and decided, “I’ll take the top half because it has bright green leaves and looks prettier than the dull roots. Plus, I know that’s where the bananas grow!”

Planting the Tree

The turtle gave the monkey the half with the leaves, while the monkey helped dig the holes. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that if the tree was cut in two, they would need to dig two holes, making the work twice as hard. They planted the two halves and watered them, then waited for them to grow. Eventually, the monkey’s half didn’t grow at all since it lacked roots. The bright green leaves turned brown and withered, and the branches drooped to the ground. Meanwhile, the turtle’s half had roots and thrived, growing larger and sprouting new branches. Soon, these branches bloomed with bright green leaves, and eventually, the tree bore a lot of bananas.

The Ripe Bananas

However, turtles cannot climb trees, and as the turtle looked up at the ripe bananas, he wondered how he would reach them. “Monkey!” he called out. “Come and climb my tree and throw me some bananas down. I will willingly give you half of what’s there.”

The monkey climbed the tree and picked the bananas but did not throw any down as promised. Instead, he sat in the branches, enjoying the delicious fruit and taunting the turtles with how tasty they were.

The Monkey’s Greed

“What about my share?” called the turtle, feeling frustrated. “Come up and get them,” replied the monkey, laughing. “You know I can’t climb,” the turtle shot back. “Too bad for you,” said the monkey, laughing even more. “Here, have a banana skin!” He tossed one down.

A Clever Plan

The turtle was furious. He looked around and spotted a prickly bramble bush. He gathered the prickly branches and laid them around the base of the banana tree, then hid nearby. When the monkey finished eating all the bananas, he climbed down, still chuckling about the trick he had played on the turtle. However, in his excitement, he didn’t notice where he was jumping and landed right in the middle of the brambles. “Ouch!” he yelled, hopping up and down in pain.

The turtle could hardly contain his laughter. Once the monkey escaped the brambles, he turned his attention back to the turtle, flipping him onto his back. The monkey knew turtles were helpless when turned that way. “Now,” he said to the unhappy turtle, “I will think of all the most horrid things I can do to you. Shall I dance on you until you are black and blue, pour honey on you until you’re all sticky, or throw you down the mountain?”

Turning the Tables

“Oh monkey, I love honey! Please, cover me in it!” pleaded the turtle. “I enjoy being danced on; it tickles my tummy! I don’t mind a throw down the mountain, either; it’s fun because I bounce on my hard shell!” He desperately hoped the monkey wouldn’t realize he was lying about hating these things. “But please, dear monkey, just don’t throw me into the water. I truly hate water!” he wailed.

The monkey fell right into the turtle’s trap, forgetting that turtles spend much of their lives in water and swim far better than monkeys.

A Splash of Lesson

“If you hate water that much,” said the monkey, “I’ll throw you in the river.” He picked up the turtle and tossed him in, pleased with himself as he heard the big splash.

The turtle swam to the surface, poked his head out, and grinned at the monkey. “You should think before you act, monkey,” he called out. “If you had thought for a moment, you would have remembered that turtles love water and spend much time swimming. How else do you think I got the banana tree from the river if I couldn’t swim?”

Monkey’s Regret

The monkey was so angry that he dashed off to join the other monkeys and never returned to the banana tree again. Meanwhile, the turtle swam around happily. “I love swimming!” he declared. Then he crawled onto the bank and enjoyed the bananas from the bunch that the monkey had dropped when landing on the brambles.