The Monkey and the Turtle
A
Monkey, looking very sad and dejected, was
walking along the bank of the river on e day when
he met a turtle.
"How are you?" asked the turtle, noticing that he
looked sad.
The monkey replied, "Oh, my friend, I am very
hungry. The squash of Mr. Farmer were all taken
by the other monkeys, and now I am about to die
from want of food."
"Do not be discouraged," said the turtle; "take a
bob and follow me and we will steal some banana
plants."
So they walked along together until they found some
nice plants which they dug up, and then they looked
for a place to set them. Finally the monkey climbed
a tree and planted his in it, but as the turtle could not
climb he dug a hole in the ground and set his there.
When their work was finished they went away, planning what they should do with their crop. The
monkey said:
"When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and have
a great deal of money."
And the turtle said: "When my tree bears fruit, I
shall sell it and buy three varas of cloth to wear in
place of this cracked shell."
A few weeks later they went back to the place to see
their plants and found that that of the monkey was
dead, for its roots had had no soil in the tree, but that
of the turtle was tall and bearing fruit.
"I will climb to the top so that we can get the fruit,"
said the monkey. And he sprang up the tree, leaving
the poor turtle on the ground alone.
"Please give me some to eat," called the turtle, but
the monkey threw him only a green one and ate all the
the ripe ones himself.
When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey
stretched his arms around the tree and went to sleep.
The turtle, seeing this, was very angry and considered
how he might punish the thief. Having decided on
a scheme, he gathered some sharp bamboo which he
placed all round the base of the tree, and then he exclaimed:
A Crocodile is coming! Crocodile is coming!"
The monkey was so startled at the cry that he fell
upon the sharp bamboo and was killed.
Then the turtle cut the dead monkey into pieces, put
it on, and dried it in the sun. The next day, he
went to the mountains and sold his meat to other
monkeys who gladly gave him squash in return. As
he was leaving them he called back:
"Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own body;
you are now eating your own body."
Then the monkeys ran and caught him and carried
him to their own home.
Let us take a hatchet," said one old monkey, "and
cut him into very small pieces."
But the turtle laughed and said: "That is just what
I like. I have been struck with a hatchet many times.
Do you not see the black scars on my shell?"
Then one of the other monkeys said: "Let us throw
him into the water."
At this the turtle cried and begged them to spare
his life, but they paid no heed to his pleadings and
threw him into the water. He sank to the bottom,
but very soon came up with a lobster. The monkeys
were greatly surprised at this and begged him to tell
them how to catch lobsters.
"I tied one end of a string around my waist," said
the turtle. "To the other end of the string I tied a
stone so that I would sink."
The monkeys immediately tied strings around themselves as the turtle said, and when all was ready they
plunged into the water never to come up again.
And to this day monkeys do not like to eat meat,
because they remember the ancient story.
This tale told by the Ilocano is well known among both the
Christianized and the wild tribe, of the Philippines, and also in
Borneo and Java. However, the Ilocano is the only version so far as I
known, which has the explanatory element: the reason is given here why
monkeys do not eat meat. The turtle is accredited with extraordinary
sagacity and cunning. It is another example of the type of tale showing
the victory of the weak and cunning over the strong but stupid. See
"The Turtle and the Lizard". | 
How Butterflies Came To Be 
ntered it to gather some
bouquets. The old woman asked them to leave, but instead of obeying,
the young man and woman made fun of her because they found her ugly. 