Monkey possesses brains and physical agility but is impulsive, whereas Shark, slow-witted and physically sluggish when out of water, is resourceful if given time to think through a problem.  Shark is also a dependable comrade.  Monkey’s intelligence usually gains him the advantage over Shark, yet like Brer Rabbit he sometimes is too clever by half and comes unstuck.  This fate befell him when greed overcame his duty to collaborate with his partner, Shark.

Monkey and Shark.  Monkey and Shark jointly owned and cultivated a garden, whose harvests they shared.  After several years of productive cooperation, Monkey decided he wanted the entire plot and all its riches for himself.  He told Shark he no longer wished to honor his commitment to cooperate, so the garden should belong to only one of them.  He proposed they hold a competition to determine who this should be.

Now Shark liked working with his friend and for a long time resisted the little animal’s selfish request.  But Monkey’s persistent demands eventually won the day, and Shark agreed to a contest.  Monkey promptly suggested it should be a one-lap race around the perimeter of the garden.  “OK!” agreed Shark, and they decided to hold the race the next morning.

It was only on reflection that Shark realized Monkey had outsmarted him.  Fish were clumsy on land, and he would be no match for nimble Monkey.  Surely he would forfeit the garden, Shark thought miserably, but he refused to despair and decided to have a brainstorming session with his three brothers.  He dove to the bottom of the sea, where a solid night’s cudgeling of collective wits produced a promising strategy.

Shortly before dawn, the four sharks swam to the shore.  They laboriously hauled themselves onto the land and trudged to the garden.  Around it they took up their agreed-upon positions.