Folk Tale

Monkey Elected King of the Animals

Translated From

Ἀλώπηξ καὶ πίθηκος βασιλεὺς αἱρεθείς.

AuthorΑἴσωπος
LanguageAncient Greek

Other Translations / Adaptations

Text titleLanguageAuthorPublication Date
A vurpi e u scimmiottu fattu reSicilian__
AuthorLaura Gibbs
LanguageEnglish
OriginGreece

At an assembly of the dumb beasts, the monkey did a dance. The performance was a great success and the animals elected the monkey to be their king. But the fox was jealous of the monkey, so when she saw some meat lying in a trap, she led the monkey there and told him that she had found a treasure. The fox explained that she had not taken it for herself because of the king's prerogative. Instead, she had guarded this royal prize just for him. She then told the monkey to go ahead and take it. The monkey recklessly put his hand in the trap and was caught. When he accused the fox of luring him into an ambush, the fox replied, 'O you monkey! How can you rule over the dumb beasts when you yourself are such an idiot?'


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