The Monkey and the Crocodile

On the banks of a wide, flowing river stood a magnificent rose apple tree, its branches heavy with the sweetest, most delicious fruits that anyone had ever tasted. The tree was so tall that its top branches seemed to touch the clouds, and its fruits were so perfectly ripe and juicy that their fragrance could be smelled from far away.

In this wonderful tree lived a clever and kind-hearted monkey named Raktamukha, whose red face had earned him his name. Every morning, he would wake up to the sound of birds singing and spend his day jumping from branch to branch, eating the sweet rose apples and enjoying the warm sunshine that filtered through the leaves.

Raktamukha was not greedy, and he always ate only what he needed, leaving plenty of fruit for the birds and other creatures who visited the tree. When the fruits ripened and fell into the river below, they would float downstream, spreading their sweet fragrance throughout the water.

One day, as Raktamukha was enjoying his breakfast of rose apples, he noticed a large crocodile floating in the river below, looking tired and hungry. The crocodile’s name was Karalamukha, and he had been traveling for many days without finding any food.

Being a kind-hearted creature, Raktamukha called down to the crocodile: “Friend, you look weary and hungry. Would you like some of these delicious rose apples? They are the sweetest fruits you will ever taste.”

Karalamukha looked up at the monkey with surprise. He had never met such a generous creature before. “That is very kind of you,” he replied. “I would indeed be grateful for some fruit.”

Raktamukha immediately picked the ripest, juiciest rose apples from the tree and threw them down to the crocodile. Karalamukha tasted them and was amazed—they were indeed the most delicious fruits he had ever eaten, sweet as nectar and refreshing as cool water on a hot day.

“These are wonderful!” Karalamukha exclaimed. “Thank you so much for your kindness, friend monkey.”

From that day forward, the crocodile would visit the rose apple tree every morning, and Raktamukha would share his breakfast with him. They would talk and laugh together, and gradually, a strong friendship developed between them. Raktamukha would tell stories about life in the treetops, while Karalamukha would share tales of his adventures in the river and the other creatures he had met.

This friendship continued for many months, and both animals looked forward to their daily meetings. Raktamukha had never had such an interesting friend, and Karalamukha had never met anyone as generous and kind as the monkey.

However, Karalamukha was married to a female crocodile who was not as kind-hearted as her husband. When Karalamukha began bringing home rose apples every day and telling her about his wonderful monkey friend, she began to feel jealous and suspicious.

“Why do you spend so much time with this monkey?” she asked irritably. “And why do you always talk about how wonderful he is? You seem to care more about him than about me.”

Karalamukha tried to explain that Raktamukha was just a good friend who shared his food generously, but his wife would not listen. Her jealousy grew stronger each day, and she began to plot against the innocent monkey.

One day, the crocodile’s wife pretended to be very ill. She lay on the riverbank, moaning and sighing dramatically, and when her husband asked what was wrong, she said, “Oh, my dear husband, I am dying of a terrible disease. The only cure is the heart of a monkey—specifically, the heart of a monkey who eats nothing but the sweetest fruits. Without such a heart, I will surely die.”

Karalamukha was horrified. “But wife, that means I would have to kill my dear friend Raktamukha! He has been nothing but kind to us, sharing his food and friendship. How can you ask me to betray him?”

The crocodile’s wife began to cry louder. “So you care more about a monkey than about your own wife! You would rather let me die than harm your precious friend. Fine, then let me die, and you can live happily with your monkey companion.”

Torn between his loyalty to his friend and his duty to his wife, Karalamukha finally gave in to her demands. With a heavy heart, he decided he would have to trick Raktamukha into coming within reach so he could capture him.

The next morning, when Raktamukha threw down the usual rose apples and greeted his friend cheerfully, Karalamukha seemed unusually sad and distracted.

“What’s wrong, my friend?” Raktamukha asked with concern. “You seem troubled today.”

Karalamukha sighed deeply. “Oh, Raktamukha, I feel terrible that our friendship has been so one-sided. You always give me delicious fruits, but I have never been able to offer you anything in return. Yesterday, my wife said something that made me realize how selfish I have been.”

“What do you mean?” asked the monkey, genuinely puzzled.

“Well,” Karalamukha continued, “my wife pointed out that on the other side of this river, there is an even more magnificent fruit tree—a jamun tree with fruits so sweet and large that they make these rose apples seem ordinary in comparison. She suggested that I should take you there as a gesture of friendship, to show you the same kindness you have shown me.”

Raktamukha was touched by this offer, but he also felt a little suspicious. “That’s very kind of you to offer, but how would I get across the river? I cannot swim, and the water is too wide for me to jump across.”

“That’s simple,” replied Karalamukha, trying to sound casual. “You can ride on my back. I am a strong swimmer, and I would be honored to carry such a good friend across the river.”

Raktamukha considered this offer carefully. The idea of tasting even sweeter fruits was tempting, and Karalamukha had always been trustworthy. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to accept his friend’s invitation.

“Very well,” said Raktamukha, climbing down to a lower branch. “If you’re sure it’s no trouble, I would like to see this wonderful jamun tree.”

Karalamukha positioned himself near the riverbank, and Raktamukha carefully jumped onto his back. The crocodile began swimming toward the other side of the river, and at first, everything seemed normal.

However, as they reached the middle of the river, where the water was deepest and the current strongest, Karalamukha suddenly began to swim more slowly. His behavior became strange, and he kept looking back at the monkey with an odd expression.

Raktamukha, being very intelligent, sensed that something was wrong. “Friend Karalamukha,” he said carefully, “is everything all right? You seem different today.”

Unable to bear the weight of his deception any longer, and perhaps hoping that honesty would make his task easier, Karalamukha decided to tell the truth.

“Oh, Raktamukha,” he said with a heavy sigh, “I must confess something to you. I have not been honest about the reason for this trip. The truth is, my wife is very ill, and the only cure for her disease is the heart of a monkey who eats the sweetest fruits. I brought you here so that I could… so that I could take your heart to save her life.”

Raktamukha felt a chill of fear run through his body, but his quick mind immediately began working on a solution. He realized that he was in the middle of the river, completely at the mercy of the crocodile, and that panic would only make his situation worse. Instead, he decided to use his cleverness to outwit his treacherous friend.

“Oh my!” Raktamukha exclaimed, slapping his forehead as if he had just remembered something very important. “What a terrible mistake I have made!”

“What do you mean?” asked Karalamukha, confused by the monkey’s reaction.

“Well,” said Raktamukha, thinking quickly, “if you had told me the real purpose of this trip, I would have brought my heart with me. You see, we monkeys don’t always carry our hearts inside our bodies. When we’re jumping around in the trees all day, our hearts are too heavy and get in the way. So we usually leave them safe in our home tree and only put them back inside our bodies when we need them.”

Karalamukha was amazed by this information. “You mean you don’t have your heart with you right now?”

“Of course not!” replied Raktamukha convincingly. “Why would I carry such a heavy organ when I was just planning to eat fruits on the other side of the river? If you want my heart to cure your wife, we’ll have to go back to my tree so I can get it for you.”

The crocodile was disappointed but saw the logic in the monkey’s explanation. “Oh, what a foolish mistake!” he said. “I should have told you the real reason for the trip from the beginning. Yes, we must go back and get your heart.”

Karalamukha turned around and began swimming back toward the rose apple tree as fast as he could, eager to complete his mission and save his wife. Raktamukha held on tightly, using all his willpower to remain calm and not reveal his true feelings.

When they reached the bank of the river near the rose apple tree, Raktamukha quickly jumped off the crocodile’s back and scampered up to the highest branches, well out of reach of any danger.

“Wait there, my friend,” Raktamukha called down cheerfully. “I’ll just get my heart and come right back down.”

But once he was safely in his tree, Raktamukha’s tone changed completely. “Oh, foolish crocodile!” he called down with a mixture of sadness and anger. “Did you really believe such a ridiculous story? Has anyone ever heard of a creature that can take its heart out of its body and still remain alive? You have revealed your true nature today, and I see that you are not the friend I thought you were.”

Karalamukha suddenly realized how cleverly he had been tricked. His face burned with shame as he understood that Raktamukha had outwitted him completely.

“But what about my wife?” Karalamukha called up desperately. “She will die without a monkey’s heart!”

Raktamukha looked down at the crocodile with a mixture of pity and disgust. “Your wife is not really sick,” he said wisely. “She was simply jealous of our friendship and wanted to destroy it. She has used you as a tool for her jealousy and turned you into a betrayer. Go home and tell her that her evil plan has failed, and that she has lost not only a monkey’s heart but also her husband’s honor.”

With these words, Raktamukha disappeared into the thick foliage of his tree, and Karalamukha was left alone in the water, feeling ashamed and foolish.

The crocodile returned home to his wife with empty hands and a heavy heart. When she heard what had happened, instead of being grateful for his efforts, she became angry with him for failing and for being outwitted by a “mere monkey.”

From that day forward, Karalamukha lived with the knowledge that he had betrayed the best friend he had ever had for the sake of a wife who cared more about her jealousy than about his happiness or honor. He learned too late that evil plans often destroy the person who makes them more than they harm their intended victims.

As for Raktamukha, he continued to live happily in his rose apple tree, but he became much more careful about whom he trusted. He had learned that even the closest friendships can be destroyed by jealousy and selfishness, and that intelligence and quick thinking are sometimes the only defenses against betrayal.

The story of the monkey and the crocodile became famous throughout the land as an example of how wisdom and presence of mind can triumph over treachery, and how kindness, though it may sometimes be repaid with betrayal, is still the noblest virtue of all.