Reading Notes: Indian Fables and Folklore

Part B

Monkey

Web Source:Smithsonian Magazine

• There was a merchant who believed that through wealth, there is salvation
• The mindset was that those who seek salvation, should seek wealth
• The merchant sent his son abroad with a large sum of money so that he may trade
• After many days of traveling by land and sea, the son finally came across the Isle of Gold
• The son settled in an inn where the hostess had taken him for a fool
• She drained him of all his money and left him with nothing. The woman is compared to a leech.
• The son left and found a monkey that he taught to swallow gold coins and spit back up when needed
• After much training, the monkey was finally ready to show off his tricks
• The man returned to the same inn where he had been taken a fool and the hostess begged him to settle her debts
• He ordered the monkey to cough up 300 gold coins, literally. 
• The hostess saw the monkey's magic and immediately wanted the monkey for herself
• She offered to repay the money she had stolen from the son, however, he stated that he would be a fool to get rid of the monkey
•  The hostess offered everything she owned plus the money and the son gladly accepted
• He ran off with all the riches and left the hostess with just a plain monkey

Bibliography:

The Monkey Banker

Author: Shovona Devi

Web Source: The Monkey Banker