continued..
The poor Monkey was ready to cry. But he did not cry. The Monkey thought of a plan to save himself. Then he said, "How silly you are! Why didn't you tell me that before? I have no heart with me. It is at home, in the branches of a big tree.
The poor Monkey was ready to cry. But he did not cry. The Monkey thought of a plan to save himself. Then he said, "How silly you are! Why didn't you tell me that before? I have no heart with me. It is at home, in the branches of a big tree.
We Monkeys always hide our hearts in the branches of big trees in the daytime. We take out hearts only at night. What will you do if your chief finds that I have no heart? How angry he will be? I am ready to give my heart to your chief, because I am your friend. But how can I do that when I have no heart with me?”
The Shark asked the Monkey, "If I take you back to your tree, will you go and get your heart?" "Of course, I will. And let us go quickly. Your dear chief must not wait!" The Shark with the Monkey swam back very quickly.
They came again to the big tree. The Monkey climbed up the tree saying, "Wait for me! Wait for me! I'll take my heart!" But the monkey did not come back. The Shark was swimming and swimming in the water under the tree. Then he shouted, "Friend Monkey, where are you?"
There was no answer. The Shark thought, "I am afraid he can't find the heart in the branches!”
The Shark waited and waited for the Monkey. Then he shouted again, "Monkey? Monkey? When will you come back to me?" Again there was no answer.
Then the Monkey began to laugh. "Do you think I am a fool?" asked the little Monkey. "Do you think I want to give my heart to your big bad chief and then die?"
"But you said your heart was in the branches of the tree," said the silly Shark. "My heart is in its place in my body. It is always there!" shouted the Monkey. "And you go away! We are not friends any more!"
And with these words the clever Monkey threw a big rotten fruit on the Shark's nose.
Source: African Folk tales