Once upon a time there were two friends, the monkey and the turtle.
One day the turtle went to the monkey's house and said, "Friend,
let's go out and take a stroll together? That is if you have time"
Since the monkey was not doing nothing at the time, he accepted his
friend's suggestion to take a stroll together. Along their way they
found a young banana plant lying along the road.
"What shall we do with this banana plant?" the turtle asked. The
monkey replied "Let's divide it between the two. We shall cut it into
two equal parts. You will get the lower half and I will get the upper
half."
And so the turtle agreed.
So the two friends cut the banana plant into two parts. As per
agreement, the turtle got the lower half, and the monkey got the upper
half. After cutting the banana plant, each went on his way home. The
monkey planted his part of the banana plant in his garden upon arriving
home. And so the turtle did the same as soon as he reached home.
The monkey's banana plant died after few days. The monkey felt sad,
because he know that he will not be able to eat the sweet ripe bananas.
On the other hand, the turtle's banana plant grew stout and fast. In
a few weeks it bore fruit which soon ripened, ready to be eaten.
One morning the turtle wandered what happened to his friend turtle's
banana. "I'll pay him a visit and see what happen." the turtle said.
And so the turtle went to his friend monkey's place.
When the turtle arrived, he saw his friend looking very sad. The
turtle said, "Friend Monkey, why the long face? What happen? You look as
if today is the end of the world!"
The monkey replied while pointing to the dead plant in the garden. "My banana plant died. What about yours my friend?"
"It is now bearing fruit and the fruit has already ripened," the turtle replied.
"Wow! Will you let me see it?" said the monkey.
Since the turtle is unselfish, he said yes. And they went to see the ripe bananas.
Upon reaching the turtle's place, the monkey saw the banana plant and its ripe fruits.
The monkey asked." Who will gather the ripe bananas?"
"My grandfather of course!" the turtle replied.
"But your grandfather is lame!" the monkey said.
"Then my brother will do it," the turtle said.
"But your brother is blind!" replied the monkey.
After thinking who will gather the ripe bananas, the monkey said,"My
friend, will you allow me to climb the banana plant and gather the ripe
fruit instead?
The turtle answered Yes to the monkey.
The monkey climbed the banana plant. In two seconds flat he reached
the top. Without a delay he picked one ripe banana, peeled it, and ate
it. He picked another banana and did the same. In just a few minutes,
half of the ripe bananas had been eaten by the monkey.
With what the monkey has doing, the turtle felt disgusted. The
turtle said, "Friend, what about me? Please give me some bananas too."
The monkey just laughed, then threw banana peelings at the turtle.
"I'll be teaching him a lesson," the turtle said to himself.
The turtle then left the monkey and went to a thicket where he found
a lots of thorns. He gathered two big armfuls of the thorns and then
put them around the trunk of the banana plant.
"Friend Monkey, it's not healthy to stay up there all day. I have a
piece of good advice for you. When you hear the barking of the dog,
that's the signal for you to come down." And he left after putting all
the thorns around the banana trunk.
A neighbor's dog barked. The monkey heard the sound. Since he was so
full of ripe bananas that he could hardly move, he follow the turtle's
advice, then he started to climb down. All of a sudden he lost his grip
and fell on the thorns which surrounded the trunk of the banana plant.
The thorns pricked the monkey's body, legs, and arms. With effort, the
monkey managed to leave the place and return home.
The next morning the monkey woke up early and said, "I'll make that turtle pay for what he did to me yesterday."
He went, looking for the turtle.
Soon he came to a farm. Feeling so tired looking for the turtle, he
sat on a coconut shell. It so happened that his tail went through the
hole in the shell. He did not know that the turtle was inside the shell.
After the monkey had sat down, the turtle pulled the monkey's tail.
Quickly, the monkey jumped. Then the monkey kicked the coconut shell.
The shell turned over and revealing the turtle.
"So it's you!" the monkey said. "I've been looking for you all morning, do you know that?
The monkey picked the turtle up and said, "Now I will punish you."
"What will you do with me?" the turtle asked.
"I'll make a live charcoal and roast you!" said the monkey.
"If you do that my friend, I will become red," said the turtle. "Have I told you that red is my favorite color?"
"Then I will chop you into pieces!" the monkey said.
"If you do that, there will be a great number of turtles crawling around," said the turtle.
"Then I will throw you to the river!" said the monkey.
This is what the turtle has been waiting for all the time, for he
liked to be in the river where he could swim to his heart's content.
The turtle pretended that he doesn't want being thrown into the river.
"My friend, please, don't do that," the turtle said in a pleading voice. "I will surely drown. Have pity on me!"
" Have pity on you?! After what you did to me, you expect me to have
pity on you? You must be crazy. I'm sorry, my dear friend turtle, but I
will throw you into the river - now!"
"Listen, Friend Monkey! Please" cried the turtle. "It will be better
if you roast me over live charcoals. Or you can just chop me into
pieces. But, please do not throw me into the river!"
But the monkey is deaf to the turtle's plea. He threw the turtle into the river.
The turtle went down, down into the river for awhile. And then he came up the surface. Holding a big fish on his arms.
"Dear Friend Monkey, look! I've caught a big fish!" the turtle shouted.
The monkey was taken aback for sometime.
"Will you please give it to me, dear friend?" he managed to say.
"Why don't you just jump into the river and catch one for yourself?" the turtle said. I never thought that you are that lazy."
Since the monkey doesn't want being called lazy. He immediately
jumped into the river and, since he did not know how to swim, he
drowned.
The turtle laughed all day long.
