The Dancing Monkeys
Story by: Aesop
Source: Aesop's Fables
A clever showman had trained a troupe of monkeys to dance and perform for audiences. He dressed them in beautiful costumes with flowing robes, elegant masks, and delicate slippers. For months, he taught them to walk upright, bow gracefully, and perform intricate dance steps.
The monkeys became quite skilled at their performances. They learned to move with dignity and grace, holding their heads high and stepping in perfect rhythm to the music. Audiences were amazed and delighted by these cultured, civilized creatures who seemed to have abandoned their wild nature entirely.
Night after night, the monkeys performed before packed theaters. They danced minuets and waltzes, performed elaborate courtly bows, and conducted themselves with all the refinement of noble ladies and gentlemen. The crowd always applauded enthusiastically, marveling at how human-like the creatures had become.
One evening, during their most elegant performance, a mischievous spectator in the audience decided to test just how civilized these monkeys really were. He pulled a bag of nuts from his pocket and scattered them across the stage.
The moment the nuts hit the floor, the monkeys’ careful training vanished instantly. Despite their beautiful costumes and months of disciplined practice, they could not resist their natural instincts.
They abandoned their graceful postures, dropped to all fours, and began scrambling frantically for the nuts. Their elegant robes tore as they fought with each other, their masks fell off, and their slippers scattered across the stage.
In seconds, the refined performers had returned to their true nature - chattering, grabbing, and behaving exactly like the wild monkeys they had always been underneath their costumes.
The audience laughed as they realized that no amount of training or fine clothing could change what the monkeys truly were at heart.
Moral: True nature cannot be hidden forever. No matter how much training or refinement we acquire, our essential character will eventually reveal itself.
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