Mr. Croc and Mr. Monk   There was a huge tree beside a river laden with cherries, single and double that were very sweet. A monkey named Mr. Monk lived on this tree while a Mr. Croc was to be found in the river. Soon they became friends and talked a lot to each other. Now Mr. Monk used to eat the fruit and as they were delicious after sometime he started throwing a few to his friend Croc.   One day Croc thoughtfully took some cherries home for his wife. How she loved the tasty fruit!!! “Where did you get such cherries from?” she asked Croc. He told her about his friend Monk who lived on this tree and gave him the fruit to eat. One day Monk gave his friend a lot of the cherries to take home for Mrs. Croc, who being a greedy person promptly ate all the fruit.   “Dear husband”, she said, “have you ever thought if this fruit is so sweet, how much sweeter must your friend be after eating this fruit for all these years? You must bring him home then we can eat his liver which will be the most delicious thing we have ever eaten.”   Croc was horrified and said “No, no, how can you say that? He is my friend.” Daily Mrs. Croc said the same thing and he always refused. However one day he got to thinking – well maybe she was right. So after a few days he went to visit Monk. “Oh Friend, my wife has asked you to tea. You must come.”   Monk was quite pleased and said I will certainly come but I don’t know how to swim. Croc said “Dear Friend you only have to get on to my back and I will take you home.” So Monk climbed onto his back and they set off. After a short while Croc said “Oh Monk, I forgot to ask you where is your liver? My wife said you must be sure to bring it with you?”   Now Monk was not a fool. He understood at once what the whole plan was. He immediately replied, “Oh dear, I left it behind, see it’s hanging on top of the tree. I wish you had told me before I would have brought it with me. Now we must go back to fetch it.”   Croc went “Tch, Tch, we will have to go back again” and turned. As soon as he reached the bank below the tree, Monk gave one leap and ran up the tree. “Nyaah” he said with his thumb on his nose waving his fingers. “We were good friends Croc, but no more, no more. Nor will I ever give you this fruit again. You turned too greedy and would have killed your friend for your wife.”   Thereafter Croc never got any cherries, and Monk never came down to talk to him no matter how many times Croc kept on asking to be forgiven.   Who would trust a friend like this, who could betray him? So Monk never forgave him, after all once bitten twice shy. And as for Croc he even pretended to cry and shed some tears – which is why shedding false tears are called crocodile tears.   Back to Kidz Korner