The mischievous monkey

The elephants, deer, monkeys and birds lived together harmoniously in a serene, secluded corner of the jungle surrounded by tall trees and dense green foliage. Suddenly, their peace and tranquillity was shattered by a blood curdling roar, announcing the arrival of an unwanted visitor to the area. A hungry tiger had wandered into their territory in search of food.

The big cat had found a bonanza. He pounced greedily on the unsuspecting animals that provided him with a never-ending banquet. What a variety he had to choose from — rabbits and hares, peacocks and jungle fowl, antelopes and monkeys.

The jungle animals were distraught. The langurs held a meeting on the tree tops. Many members of their troop had been killed by the tiger. “How do we tackle the problem of this tiger that is terrorising our jungle brethren?  He even attempts to climb trees, jumping up and lunging at creatures perched on the branches,” said Pradhan, the leader of the troop.

Gyani, one of the oldest langurs spoke up saying, “I have an idea. Once, while I was hanging out near the village temple, I heard the priest telling the children a story about a cat that was posing a problem to the mice that lived in the same house. It was a similar situation, where the cat was killing and terrorising the mice. They came up with the idea of tying a bell to the cat to warn them of its approach so they had enough time to run for cover. We could use the same strategy to tackle the problem of our big cat — the tiger. One of us can easily steal one of the smaller bells hanging outside the temple on the outskirts of the forest; but who will volunteer to tie it to the tiger?”

Mastikhor, one of the naughtiest young monkeys, who was forever playing pranks, put up his hand saying, “I’ll volunteer”.  He thought this was a good way to redeem himself in the eyes of the older monkeys who were quite miffed with his mischief-making ways. “I hope you are aware of the danger involved,” said their leader. “It will be an honour to bell the tiger and put an end to our troubles,” replied Mastikhor humbly.

So, on a hot summer’s day, when the tiger was taking a nap under the shade of a big Banyan tree, Mastikhor seized the opportunity to put their plan into action.  He clambered down the banyan tree’s long prop roots that almost touched the ground, holding the clapper of the stolen bell firmly between his fingers, to prevent it from ringing. Deftly and swiftly, he looped the rope of the bell, over the sleeping tiger’s head.  It clanged loudly as it settled on the beast’s neck, waking the sleeping monster.  

The tiger awoke with an angry growl and swiped his paw at the monkey who managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time. Mastikhor then swung on the hanging banyan roots and hopped onto a branch, just beyond the enraged tiger’s reach.  

The mischievous langur decided to have a little fun at the tiger’s expense. Using the trailing banyan roots he jumped to another tree, swung upside down and yanked the tiger’s tail.  Mastikhor leapt from tree to tree, running circles around the infuriated tiger who tried grabbing the cheeky monkey, all in vain.  The birds who were watching the scene from the tree tops cackled at the tiger’s predicament.  “That will teach you a lesson,” they sang in unison.

The tiger roared in rage, shaking his head, trying to rid himself of the constricting, noisy bell around his neck. All the while, the bell kept clanging loudly, annoying the tiger even more.  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake off the irritating bell.  The constant din drove him round the bend. To top it all, the pesky monkey kept leaping off the trees pulling his tail.  In the end, the tiger gave up in exasperation and slunk off into the undergrowth sulking.

The news that Mastikhor had belled the tiger spread like wildfire through the jungle. All the animals and birds were grateful to Mastikhor for solving the dilemma posed by the dangerous tiger who had intruded into their peaceful forest. The clanging bell now gave them ample time and warning to escape.

Thus, the tiger’s foraging forays into the jungle came to an end, thanks to the clever langurs who thought of belling the big cat.

The human beings in the nearby village too were highly amused and wondered who had belled the tiger. The bell served as an alarm, warning them of the approaching tiger and they managed to chase it away successfully with sticks and by bursting loud firecrackers or firing gunshots in the air.  

Mastikhor’s bell had triumphantly put an end to the tiger’s hunting days.