“As soon as the shark came home and had told his wife about his new friend the monkey, his wife started complaining about her illness, adding, ‘Oh, and the only remedy is a monkey’s heart. Nothing else will cure me.  If I don’t get it soon, I shall be dead tomorrow.’ What should the shark do? If he killed his friend he would be a traitor, and if he refused, he would be a widower, or so he was led to believe.  He swam toward the tree, hoping to find an answer in the meantime. He did, but was it a good one?

“The shark emerged from the water and spoke to the monkey in friendly terms. “I want to invite you to dinner.  My wife would like to meet you, but she is not able to come and see you here.’ Thus the shark prattled on.  The monkey became suspicious of this friendly verbosity, but he did not show his feelings, for he was wiser than the shark, whom he had regarded as a friend up to this moment.  Still, he came down from his tree and took his place on the back of the waiting shark, who immediately set off toward his home in the ocean.

“The monkey asked him, “Is your wife ill?’ The shark replied, ‘Yes, how did you know? The only medicine that will cure her is the heart of a monkey.’ Now the monkey did some quick thinking, then said in a friendly tone, ‘But my friend, why did you not tell me that before, so I would have brought my heart.  You see, we monkeys, at least in our tribe, have the habit of leaving our hearts at home.  If you want my heart, you will have to carry me back to my tree, so that I can pick up my heart for your poor wife.’

“The shark believed him, made a complete turn, and swam back to the monkey’s tree.  As soon as he was near the shore, the monkey jumped into his tree and sat on his customary branch to relax.  At last the shark became impatient and asked if he were not coming back.  The monkey replied – and by doing so, introduced one of many stories he would tell the shark- ‘If I did, I would be as stupid as that donkey.’ ‘How was that?’ asked the shark.  The monkey related this tale:

Once upon a time there was a lion whose hair had fallen out owing to some skin disease.  As a result he felt too weak to hunt.  Also, a lion without hair or mane cannot present himself to the public; that would be a disgrace and lead to loss of authority.  So, the lion just lay in his den and suffered hunger, for it is the quality of the great to suffer hardship with equanimity.