Read the folk tale Tobia loves
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A clever monkey and a hungry crocodile learn that true friendship can’t survive greed, in one of India’s oldest and best-loved fables, from the ancient Panchatantra collection.
Long ago, on the banks of a wide river in ancient India, there lived a monkey who made his home in a tall mango tree that grew right at the water’s edge. The tree was heavy with the sweetest mangoes in the forest, and the monkey, being a generous soul, never kept them all to himself.
In the river below lived a crocodile, and over time, the two became true friends. Every day the monkey would toss down a few ripe mangoes, and the crocodile would carry some home across the water for his wife, so that she too could taste the sweetness the monkey enjoyed each day.
A Wife’s Unkind Request
One evening, the crocodile’s wife, having eaten mango after delicious mango, began to wonder aloud. “If the fruit this monkey eats every day is this sweet,” she said, “just imagine how sweet his heart must be, from eating nothing but mangoes his whole life.” She told her husband that she would not rest until she had tasted it, and the crocodile, torn between his wife and his friend, did not know what to say.
An Invitation Across the River
The next day, heavy-hearted, the crocodile invited the monkey to come visit his home on the far bank of the river, offering to carry him safely across on his back. Delighted at the idea of meeting his friend’s family, the monkey climbed on without a second thought, and the crocodile began to swim.
Partway across, the crocodile began to sink lower and lower into the water, until the monkey, growing nervous, asked what was wrong. Unable to keep the secret any longer, the crocodile admitted the truth: his wife wanted the monkey’s heart, and he had been asked to bring it to her.
A Clever Escape
The monkey, thinking quickly, did not panic. “Oh, what a shame you didn’t tell me sooner,” he said calmly. “I never carry my heart around with me, it’s far too precious for that. I always leave it hanging safely in my tree before I go anywhere. We must turn back at once, so I can fetch it for you.” The crocodile, relieved and believing every word, turned around and swam back to the mango tree as quickly as he could.
The moment they reached the bank, the monkey scrambled up into the branches and looked down at his friend. “A true friend,” he said gently, “would never ask another to give up his life, no matter who asked it of him.” The crocodile, ashamed of what he had nearly done, apologized from the bottom of his heart, and from that day on, he brought his wife plenty of mangoes, and never again listened to unkind advice.
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Rajasthan Lullaby
Play this softly while you read: a traditional lullaby from Rajasthan, in the same country where this ancient fable was first told.
More stories, more lullabies
This is one tale in a growing collection of traditional stories from around the world, each one paired, where we can, with a real lullaby from the same culture.