Monkey Soup

There once was a little monkey who lived in the depths of a vast jungle. The jungle was divided by a deep and treacherous river which was so wide that the only way for the monkey to cross was by a small and wobbly bridge. On one side of the river was the monkey's home and on the other side were the best fruit trees in the jungle, so the monkey needed to cross if he was to have a good meal.

However, the bridge was guarded by a very large (and very grumpy) jaguar who took great pleasure in eating any animals which happened across. The monkey had seen many poor animals meet their end at the hands of the greedy jaguar and most definitely did not want to meet the same fate: he knew for certain that the jaguar was particularly fond of monkey pancakes!

In order to avoid becoming the next meal for the jaguar, the little monkey would cross very early in the morning when he knew the jaguar was still sleeping. This routine had gone on for as long as he could remember: his mother had taught him the solution when he was young and even now insisted on reminding him to never cross at any other time of day.

One chilly morning, before the sun had risen, the monkey was crossing the bridge as usual when out leapt the jaguar! The poor monkey almost fell into the rapids he was so startled. "Why aren't you sleeping?" he gasped. "I have a very sore tummy, I ate a huge snake last night and haven't slept a wink" growled the grumpy, tired looking jaguar.

Pancake time

The poor monkey felt like his legs were made of lead, he couldn't move and was convinced he was about to become the jaguar's breakfast. "What I need is a nice bowl of monkey soup to help my tummy feel better" said the jaguar.

Unrelieved at the prospect of becoming soup rather than pancakes, the monkey managed to stutter out a description of how when he had a sore tummy his mother always gave him goats milk. The jaguar paused, confused that the monkey appeared to be offering assistance. "I don't have any goats milk" he said, "You'll have to do!".

"Wait! I know where I can get some, it won't take long, there's a small village not far from here" replied the trembling monkey. The jaguar hesitated, he didn't really feel like monkey soup would help and his wee always had a queer smell of bananas after eating monkey anyway.

"Ok", he said "but how do I know you won't just run off?". "I can only offer you my word" said the terrified monkey, dreading the likely denial of his offer. To his surprise, the jaguar agreed and the relieved monkey scrabbled to the shore faster than he had ever moved in his whole life.

The Dilemma

Free at last, the monkey headed straight for the nearby village. On his way, he found himself wondering whether it might be easier to just run away and not return to the jaguar. However, his mother had always taught him that his word was the most valuable thing he possessed and he couldn't bring himself to break it.

The poor creature was wracked with nerves, he knew there was a very good chance that the jaguar might just decide to put monkey pancakes back on the menu - to go with his goats milk, you see.

Nonetheless, the monkey returned to the bridge with a coconut filled with goats milk for the jaguar.

Honesty Rewarded

The jaguar was very surprised to see the monkey return, he had been convinced that the hairy little scruff would never be seen again. He finished the milk in one giant greedy gulp, then turned his attention to the tiny creature in front of him.

He paused: something felt strange... then he let rip the largest jaguar trump you can imagine. The monkey first turned pale (and then very swiftly turned green). The stench was incredible! It smelled of snake skin, rotten boar belly and fetid fish.

"Aaaaah, that's better!!!" groaned the very relieved looking jaguar. "I was planning to eat you next, but I feel so much better now, thank you!" he exclaimed. "You can cross my bridge whenever you like, I promise I won't eat you" he continued.

The monkey could not believe his luck, he quickly thanked the jaguar and hurried off - just in case he changed his mind. The next afternoon, the monkey decided to try crossing the bridge and sure enough, the jaguar just waved to him as he scampered past.

From that day on, the monkey was able to cross as he pleased. He even started to bring some extra fruit home for his family if needed, his life was better than before - and all because he had the courage to keep his word.