The Monkey and the Crocodile

By the great sea stood a rose-apple tree. The tree bore fruit all year long. High up among the branches lived a monkey. His name was Red-Face. Red-Face ate sweet rose-apples every day. He was happy and content up there in his tree. He looked out over the blue sea. He listened to the waves splashing on the shore.

One morning a creature crawled up onto the shore. He was big and green and had a long tail. He was a crocodile. His name was Ugly-Mug. Ugly-Mug lay down in the soft sand. He rested in the shade under the tree. Red-Face looked down from a branch. He called out kindly: 'Good day, Mister Crocodile! Would you like to taste my rose-apples?'

Red-Face picked sweet fruits and tossed them down. The crocodile ate and was very happy. 'They taste like honey!' said Ugly-Mug. 'Thank you, kind monkey.' They talked for a long time in the shade. They laughed and told stories. The sun set over the sea. Soon the crocodile came back every day. They became the very best of friends.

One evening Ugly-Mug took some rose-apples home. His wife tasted one of the fruits. Her eyes grew wide. 'Where did you get these? They taste like heaven!' The crocodile smiled proudly. 'My friend the monkey gives them to me. He lives in a tree by the shore.' The wife chewed slowly on the sweet fruit. Inside her head a wicked thought began to grow.

The wife looked at her husband with shining eyes. 'If the fruit is so sweet, the monkey's heart must be sweeter still. Bring me his heart. I want to eat it.' Ugly-Mug shrank back. 'But he is my friend! I could never do that.' The wife frowned and turned away. 'Then I will not eat anything at all', she said. 'I will starve myself.'

The crocodile could not sleep that night. He loved his wife. He also loved his friend. His heart ached the whole way to the shore. Red-Face sat high up in the tree. 'What is it, dear friend? You look so sad.' Ugly-Mug looked down at the sand. He could not tell the truth. Instead he made up a story.