Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

23 January 2019

Bibliography. "The Crocodile and The Monkey's Heart" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. Web Source.

I enjoyed the story of "The Crocodile and The Monkey's Heart" from the Eastern stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. I chose this story because I like the overall lesson behind it. The monkey was initially minding his own business when approached by the mischievous crocodile. The reasoning behind their encounter was solely due to the crocodile's selfish gain. In the end, the monkey got the last laugh. It reminded me that there will be people in life that try to undermine our intelligence and disturb our peace, but we have the power of choosing to not let them take our joy.

Karma Quote. Source: Tumblr

• Brahmadatta was king of Benares at the time, when the Bodhisatta (Buddha) came to the foot of the Himalaya mountains as a monkey. The monkey had evolved to become strong, big-framed, and well built. He lived near the Ganges river in a forest haunt located by a bend.

• A crocodile and his mate lived within the Ganges. His mate yearned for something hearty to eat, specifically the strong heart of the well built and powerful monkey, Bodhisatta. The crocodile's wife exclaimed she would die if she did not receive the heart of the monkey to consume. The crocodile agreed to come up with a plan to retrieve the great monkey's heart. The crocodile decided to get the heart by tricking the monkey.

• The monkey was perched upon the Ganges river, taking a break after drinking water from the bank. The crocodile introduced himself to the monkey and questioned why he was eating lame fruit, when he could be eating plentiful good filling fruit. The crocodile explained to the monkey that better nourishing fruit awaits, if he would let him show him. The monkey agreed to ride on the back of the crocodile's back. 

• The monkey began to sink while on the crocodile's back, as the monkey cried out in confusion. The crocodile told the monkey he had tricked him and did not intend to lead him to the good surplus of fruits, rather to get his heart for his mate to feast on. 

• Once the monkey became enlightened about the plan to eat his heart, he established a plan of action for himself to combat the crocodile's plan. The monkey told the crocodile of fig trees that contain hearts at the top. The crocodile initiated an agreement for the monkey to take him to the trees where his heart resides to return to his mate. The monkey reached the top of the tree and laughed in the crocodile's face, because although his body was great his mind lacked in understanding and wisdom.

• The monkey had the last laugh as he perched at the top of the fig tree. The crocodile became sad and discouraged as he left the tree, thinking about the disappointment to ensue upon his arrival without the strong monkey's heart.