reading notes: the monkey and the crocodile, part a

This week, I decided to read out of the Jamaica Anansi Stories unit. I chose this unit because I am still not 100% better from being sick last week and these are short stories. I am hoping that I will be able to really focus in on details without expending too much extra energy.

This story is titled The Money and the Crocodile. It starts with a monkey wanting to get to the other side of a river. He tricks a crocodile into giving him a ride to the other side, and the crocodile says that he will pay. Later on, the monkey comes across a crocodile playing dead by a bush with fruits he wants. The crocodile springs up and grabs the monkey, but again the monkey comes up with a witty response. He says that he is the king's cook and that the crocodile with be killed the moment he decides to kill the monkey because the king needs him. The crocodile apologizes and asks for food from the monkey. The monkey tells him to have all that he wants and watches from afar as the crocodile itches and itches from the food. 

The moral of this story was to use your own judgment and not to rely on the council of others for it's the father of destruction and ruin.

I could see myself using this same moral and maybe changing the scene in some way. I thought that the monkey was going to eventually get caught, but he didn't. Maybe I could make it so that the monkey gets caught. I also could further exaggerate the story by making both scenarios happen to the same crocodile to really show that this crocodile was not using his judgement. 

Overall, I feel there are many different ways that I can change up this story and it would be a great one to use for my next story.

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Filipino Tales: The Monkey and the Crocodile by Dean S. Fansler.