The friend of the monkeys
In the great and far off China, in the city of Sung, there was a boy who loved monkeys very much. His name was Shanken. Shanken fed the monkeys every day. And the monkeys were very fond of Shanken, too. Sometimes he even went without rice to give it to the monkeys. He loved them so much, he cared for them so much, he observed them so much that he even managed to understand the language of the monkeys. And so Shanken could talk to them. They called him “Shanken, the friend of the monkeys”. And Shanken was very happy with this name.
But summer arrived with a particularly harsh drought, crops were lost and hunger began to spread in the city of Sung. The monkeys suffered and Shanken suffered more. He brought them less and less food. Reserves ran out. One fine day he brought them seven chestnuts.
“I'll give you three chestnuts for lunch and four for dinner.”
“No, no, no!”, they all screamed.
They didn't agree at all with the proposal.
“OK, OK, you are right,” admitted Shanken, and the monkeys fell silent, “I'll give you four for lunch and three for dinner.”
And, on hearing this, all the monkeys went mad with delight and started cheering Shanken.
And this is how Shanken managed so that the monkeys didn't go too hungry during the drought.
Text: Koldo Izagirre
Translation: Joe Linehan
Voice: Tim Nicholson
