The Leopardess and the Monkey

The Leopardess and the Monkey:

A Sanskrit Fable

         A young Leopardess was lightly sleeping on a large branch in the shade of a tree, where she had taken refuge from a sultry day.  Suddenly, without warning, her paw seized a monkey, who, absent-mindedly, had wandered to close. Her paw rested on the monkey’s belly, pinning the monkey’s back to the branch.

         Too surprised by the quickness by which he was seized to be afraid, the monkey thought, “How remarkable I am not already dead for my carelessness, ”  and accepted his fate with resignation.

         The Leopardess studied the monkey’s face calmly, “Unusual, ” thought she, “this monkey makes no attempt to escape. ”  She said to her captive, “Monkey—your curiosity forces me to believe you are part cat.”

         “My curiosity?,” the monkey in some confusion replied, “what are you talking about?”

“Did you not hear the others warn you?” The Leopardess inquired. “Only a very young monkey, bold and foolish, would dare venture so close.”

“I am old,” the monkey said simply. “The young ones mock me and give me no peace. I…was distracted. I saw this shaded branch and thought only how quiet and peaceful it appeared.”

“It is peaceful and quiet here,” said the Leopardess. Both were silent for a moment, the sounds of the world muffled, and distant.

“It is because of being so high in the tree,” said the monkey, “that the world seems so far away.”

“I think it brings the world closer,” said the Leopardess, disagreeing. “I can see so much more of it from here. I actually feel closer to the world here.”

“That is interesting,” said the monkey. Jumping to a new thought, the monkey said matter-of-factly, “You are far from home.”

The Leopardess regarded the monkey curiously, “How do you say that?”

“You wander. You do not seem lost. What else can it be?”

“Yes. I am curious about the world.”

“But your family. Your parents. Your mother must worry about you.”

“You are a monkey. I am a leopard. It is a little different for me.”

“But, even so, you are….very young.”

“Yes.” This with a note of pride.

Both again fell quiet to their own thoughts. The monkey was thinking how lovely creatures are when they are young—and then realized the Leopardess was looking for a mate—and did not even know it yet.

He said, somewhat abstractly, “Yes. The world is big. I did not mean to disturb your peace. I did not even know you were here, though that sounds incredible, now, even to my ears.”

“I am not vengeful or spiteful,” said the Leopardess.

“No. I can see that.”

“Although I am struck by your indifference.”

“Indifference? No.  I am tired of this life, but it does not mean I do not want to live. Let those who are faster and stronger pass me by. It does not seem worthy I should find my end because of foolish negligence or inattentiveness.”

“Then live. I have no wish to gnaw on your bones.”

“It is gracious of you, to let an old monkey finish his days peacefully, instead of being torn to pieces, ---…..” the monkey stopped abruptly because the Leopardess did not make the slightest move to let him free. Instead, she said, “I am told there is a river not too far from here.”

“Yes. It is a great river that runs to the sea.”

“How do I reach this river?”

The monkey looked at the Leopardess. “You do not want to go there. There is the world of man.”

“But that is why I come, so that I may learn about the wide world.”

“And just how were you going to learn about the world through men? The tiger does not chase the hunter.”

“I would watch them. I would listen to them speak. I do not fear man.”

“Oh no? Listen my young Leopardess, you have been blest with intelligence—use it! You fight fire with the wind, going to man to learn about the world.  You thirst for knowledge, and though it is wider and deeper than the sea, do not suppose you can lap it up like water and fill your stomach.

         You might not fear a man, after all, what is he? You are faster and quicker in all ways—in sight, hearing and scenting. And at night, in the dark, when nothing can compare to the hunting prowess of a Leopard—a man is little better than a blind stumbling babe—pitiful!

         But while you think you know this strange animal that walks upright on two legs, you can not imagine his world—how cunning, how cruel it is!

         You do not fear his arrows or his spears? Perhaps? But his dogs—slightly ridiculous taken alone, singlely—but relentless, merciless when they hunt as a team or in a pack—they have killed bears!

        

         “But you have studied man,” protested the Leopardess, “you have been close. And you, you are just,--…”

“--….and I am just a monkey? Then why should my opinion upset you? You might think you are the more cunning, the cleverer! But do not think he does not know you! How you live, your habits, what you do during the day, what at night. Do not think he could not hunt a Leopardess if that is his intent.”

Though the Leopardess no longer restrained the monkey with her paw, the monkey continued on. “Beyond the villages men live together in vast numbers in cities. But in villages if they are outdoors and teach their children, sometimes I listen. I am a monkey. If I am nearby, they think nothing of me. But for you, a female leopard! Even if you were to live—not likely in itself, because there is no animal he has not killed, and his traps! his snares! – even if you were to live, can you really imagine your life confined in a cage? We are just animals to Man!”

The Leopardess asked, “And the world—it is greater than man?”

“Well, yes, it is.”

“And the world-that-is-greater-than-man—it goes on and on?

“No. Not in the sense I think you mean. It can be measured.”

“Measured? The World?”

“Actually, it is a little more complicated than that…”

“How so?”

“Well—because the Earth is not flat.”

“No?”

“No. It is curved. Round. Like the moon. Because the Earth is huge it seems flat.”

“I have heard that. I wonder why one doesn’t fall off.”

“Because we are not on the bottom—so we don’t fall off.”

“I did not think of that. So…how is the measuring done?”

“It is done with triangles. Triangles on the Earth.”

“Triangles?”

“Yes, triangles. A triangle is a certain shape with three sides….umm…if you take a straight line---…”

“—a straight line?”

“Yes. The shortest distance between two points….”

“Between two points?”

“Yes. Two objects, say, you and a rabbit. When you chase a rabbit you take the shortest distance because any longer distance would take more time. That’s just common sense. The shortest distance is a straight line between you and a rabbit.”

“No it isn’t.”

“What? Of course it is.”

“No it is not. When I chase a rabbit, I never run at the rabbit. I would never catch a rabbit if I did that. You have to run aiming slightly ahead of a rabbit to catch it….”

“Oh…well, maybe that’s a bad example…”

“Besides, rabbits hardly ever run in a straight line.”

“Well, I mean two objects, say you and a rabbit that is still.”

“That’s silly. They always run. That’s why I chase them. You do not catch many rabbits, that’s clear.”

“I suppose that’s true.  I sometimes get carried away with my words. It is a fault. I am sorry.”

“Not at all. You have been patient with my questions.”

“May you be remembered for your good deeds and kind thoughtfulness.”

“Thank you. Do you know about God?”

“I am not sure. I do not really know. Among the world of men, there are priests who serve and spend much of their lives making homage to honour and show submission to God. It is said that their sacrifice pleases God.

         When the light of God passes over us, and what we do become what we’ve done, in that moment we are known by God.”

The monkey’s words were a surprise to the Leopardess. She had heard of this God. Did he not travel inside the clouds on a chariot? “Like our thoughts,” she mused. Though she had studied clouds from time to time, her examinations produced no results.

         She was about to ask about this God, but the monkey was already gone. She wondered, “If this God riding his chariot was like our thoughts, then what is the cloud?...”

         She was perplexed. But these thoughts did not stay for long, and some new thought or some new creature would hold her interest and command her curiosity.

         After all, she was just a leopard.