The King and the Foolish Monkey: Once upon a time, there was a king. He had a rather unusual best friend—a pet monkey. The king absolutely adored this monkey and took him everywhere he went. The monkey was treated more like a royal guard than an animal. Every night, as the king retreated to his chambers, the monkey would sit faithfully by his bedside. The monkey kept watch over him.
The King and the Foolish Monkey
One day, the king went out on a long, exhausting hunting trip. When he finally returned to the palace, he was completely drained and decided to turn in early for the night. As usual, he asked his trusted monkey to stand guard. The monkey, eager to please, took up his post. He positioned himself right next to the sleeping king. He proudly gripped a sharp royal sword in his hand.
All was quiet until a single, pesky fly buzzed into the room.
The monkey tried waving it away, but the fly just kept circling. Irritated, the monkey worried that the relentless buzzing would wake his master and put him in a terrible mood. Deciding he had to protect the king’s peaceful slumber at all costs, the monkey made up his mind: he was going to kill the fly and end the noise once and for all.
He started chasing the tiny insect around the room, wildly swinging the heavy sword. But naturally, swinging a massive blade at a tiny, agile fly was useless. Every time the monkey struck, the fly easily zipped out of the way.
Eventually, the tired fly decided to land—right on the tip of the sleeping king’s nose.
The monkey panicked, worried the king was about to wake up. Seeing his target sitting perfectly still, he ran to the bedside, raised the heavy sword, and brought it down with all his might.
Of course, the quick little fly buzzed away completely unharmed. The sword, however, landed exactly where the monkey had aimed. The king woke up in sudden agony, realizing his nose had been sliced right off. As he lay in bed bleeding, the king was left to curse his own terrible judgment for trusting a monkey with a sword.
The Moral: Loyalty is dangerous when paired with stupidity. It is far better to have a clever enemy than a foolish, well-meaning friend.
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