BANANA TREAT

There once lived a group of monkeys in a jungle. An old monkey was the chief of the group and he ruled them wisely and well. One day, the chief’s wife had a wish, “Husband, I think we should all go on a fast.” “Why?” he asked. “For the well-being of all the monkeys,” she replied. Although the chief was not very enthused, he agreed.

He called all the monkeys together to make the announcement. “My friends, today we shall all fast for the well-being of everyone. So, no one will eat a bite of food today!” All the monkeys readily agreed. “Whatever you say, chief!” they chorused.

The chief thought for a moment. “When we break our fast, we will all be ravenous. So, I suggest we find food and keep it ready to eat when the fast is over.” The monkeys thought this was an excellent idea. Several of them set off to find food. They climbed trees and explored until they came upon a banana tree. Chattering excitedly, they plucked many delicious yellow bananas and returned home.

“Good work! Now we will have enough food to break our fast with,” said the pleased chief. All the bananas were placed under a tree. “Shall we all prey before we begin our fast?” suggested a monkey.

They all sat around silently, praying. A thought struck the chief’s wife. “When we break the fast, we will all be so hungry that we will all pounce on the bananas together. Perhaps, we should distribute each one’s share beforehand to save time later.” The Chief thought this was a brilliant suggestion. He appointed a monkey to distribute the bananas equally among all the monkeys.