Week 12: Reading Notes B

Monkey Stories

Image Details: Crocodile, Source: Pixabay

This was a very interesting comic book to read as it included many different stories rather than just one. The first story was called “The monkey’s heart.” There once was a crocodile that lusted to eat a monkey’s heart. The crocodile’s mate heeds to her request even though he lived in the water and the monkey lived on land. He makes a plan to catch the monkey. One day when the monkey is sitting next to the river, the crocodile swims near the bank. He tells the monkey that there are better fruit on the other side of the river and to let him take the monkey there. The monkey agrees and sits on the back of the crocodile.

However, as they swam a little farther along the river, the crocodile began to plunge the monkey into the water. When the monkey questions the crocodile, he responds by telling him that his wife wanted to eat a monkey’s heart and that he will kill him.

The monkey lies to the crocodile by telling him that a monkey’s heart is stored in the trees. The crocodile takes the monkey to the tree where he says that the heart is located. When the crocodile asks the monkey to bring his heart, the monkey sits on the branch of the fig tree and chastises the silly crocodile. The crocodile goes back home with a heavy heat, realizing that he was duped.

I always loved this story when I was a child. It showed that the underdog could outwit the villain by brains and not just by strength or size. This is a really interesting story and could be adapted in a more modernized way. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this comic book.

Bibliography: Amar Chitra Katha. “Monkey Stories:Jataka Tales of Wile and Wisdom,” Volume 543.