The Monkey Chief’s Bridge

A troop of monkeys lived beside a river, where a great mango tree grew. Its strong branches held their sleeping places, and ripe fruit dropped onto the bank and into the flowing water.

Far downstream, a king found a mango floating past his boat. He tasted the sweet fruit and wanted to find its tree. Forest guides led his party upstream along the river.

They arrived beneath the mango tree and gathered fallen fruit. The king liked the place so much that his party settled down to camp, unaware that the tree was somebody else’s home.

Later, the monkeys returned to eat. Their chatter caught the guards’ attention, and they surrounded the trunk. The frightened troop crowded on the branches, looking toward their chief for a way to escape.

The chief studied a neighboring tree across a narrow river channel. Its branches nearly met their own, but the gap was too wide for the smallest monkeys. He searched for a safer connection.

He gripped the opposite branch with one hand and braced his feet and other hand against their own sturdy limb. His strong back stretched across the small gap, forming a living bridge between the two trees.

“Cross slowly,” he called. The little monkeys moved one at a time along his back and onto the opposite branch. He held firm until the youngest reached the safety of the second tree.

The king watched his patient courage. He asked the guards to stand back and bring a strong cloth. They helped the tired chief down gently instead of chasing him or his troop.

The king offered water and promised that the monkeys could keep their home. The troop gathered nearby, calling softly to their chief. He rested beneath the tree while their worried voices became cheerful again.

From then on, travelers took only fallen mangoes and left plenty for the troop. The chief’s bridge had carried more than monkeys across a gap; it had carried kindness into the king’s heart.