The Monkey and the Crocodile

Once upon a time, in a beautiful forest along the banks of a wide river, there lived a clever little monkey. The monkey made his home in a large, old tree that grew beside the river. This tree was special because it was full of the juiciest, sweetest fruits in the whole forest. The monkey was very happy, spending his days swinging from branch to branch and enjoying the delicious fruits.

One day, while the monkey was having his breakfast, he noticed a crocodile swimming near the riverbank. The crocodile looked tired and a little sad. 

Feeling sorry for the crocodile, the monkey called out, "Hello, Crocodile! You look hungry. Why don't you come closer, and I'll share some of these yummy fruits with you?"

The crocodile was surprised and happy to hear this. He swam closer and ate the fruits the monkey tossed to him.

The two of them began to talk and soon became good friends. Every day, the crocodile would visit the monkey, and the monkey would share his fruits with him.

One day, the crocodile told his wife about the kind monkey and the sweet fruits. His wife, who was a bit greedy, had an idea. "If the monkey eats such sweet fruits every day, just imagine how sweet his heart must be!" she said. "You should invite the monkey to our home. I’d love to meet him!"

The crocodile thought this was a good idea and the next day, when he met the monkey, he said, "My dear friend, my wife has heard so much about you and would love to meet you. Why don't you come to our home? You can ride on my back across the river."

The monkey, trusting his friend, agreed. He climbed onto the crocodile's back, and they set off across the river. 

However, as they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink lower in the water. The monkey got worried and asked, "Why are you sinking? What’s wrong?"

The crocodile hesitated but then confessed, "My wife wants to eat your heart because she thinks it must be very sweet."

The monkey was surprised but quickly thought of a clever plan. "Oh, my friend," the monkey said, "why didn't you tell me earlier? I would have gladly given your wife my heart, but I left it back in the tree. If you take me back, I'll fetch it for you."

The crocodile, who was not very smart, believed the monkey's story. He turned around and swam back to the riverbank. 

As soon as they reached the shore, the monkey jumped off the crocodile's back and quickly climbed up his tree to safety.

From high up in the tree, the monkey said, "Silly crocodile, how can anyone leave their heart behind? It's inside me, where it belongs. You tried to trick me, but I was too clever."

The crocodile felt sorry and realized he had almost lost a good friend because of a silly idea. He swam away quietly, and the monkey decided to be more careful when choosing friends.

And so, the monkey lived happily ever after, enjoying his fruits and the safety of his tree. As for the crocodile, he never bothered the monkey again and learned to appreciate the true meaning of friendship.