Story 4
A long time ago on a riverbank by a forest, a monkey and a crocodile formed a great friendship. The monkey would visit the crocodile often and when she came, she would bring plenty of fruit from the forest for the crocodile to eat. In turn, the crocodile would bring the monkey the largest fish he could find from the depths of the river. He would also take his friend on rides along the river where other crocodiles wouldn’t be spotted for most crocodiles loved to eat other animals.
And their friendship continued to grow.
One day Mr. Croc, as he was called, met a female crocodile, and the two instantly fell in love for no male crocodile can live alone. As they talked, Mr. Croc told his lady about his monkey friend and the kind gestures they’d show each other. Little did Mr. Croc know that his lady was a very greedy crocodile who wanted to eat the monkey because she’d heard that monkeys taste delicious.
After supper one evening she devised a plan to get Mr. Croc to bring her his monkey friend.
“My dearest, do you love me?” she asked.
“Of course I do,” he replied. “I have never met anyone as beautiful as you!”
“But you know I could be more beautiful,” she said.
“Yes. And with each day your beauty grows.”
“Thank you, but I could be more beautiful in an instant. You know what can make that happen?”
“Tell me my dear,” responded Mr. Croc.
“The heart of a monkey. Will you get me a monkey’s heart to enhance my beauty?”
“I would but I don’t know where to get one.”
“How about your friend who brings you fruits from the forest?”
“But he’s my friend, I wouldn’t do that.”
Mr. Croc’s lady sulked and cried all night until eventually he agreed to bring her his friend’s heart.
The following morning, he swam to the river bank with a serious face. When the monkey saw him, she was elated but noticed that her friend wasn’t in a good mood.
“What’s wrong Mr. Crocodile?” she asked.
“Nothing. Let’s go for a ride.”
The monkey hopped on Mr. Crocodile’s back and off they went. When she realized that they were swimming further into the river, she asked Mr. Croc why he was taking her so far. He told her the truth and she responded, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you wanted my heart? I keep it behind a tree at the edge of the river bank. We can go back and get it if your lady really wants it.”
At that, Mr. Croc was so excited, he took the monkey back to the riverbank. When they arrived, the monkey jumped off and turned to him.
“My heart is not here,” she said, “And I am angry at you for wanting to let your lady kill me. We are no longer friends.”
Mr. Croc swam away, sad that he had lost a friend and was about to disappoint his lady.
*
While the story teaches a lesson or two about boundaries, we could also note that it’s rare to find such a friendship in the reality of the animal kingdom.
In Kenya we have the Nile Crocodile; one of three African crocodiles. This species is the largest freshwater predator and is among the world’s most deadly predators. This amphibian is also known to eat other crocodiles that are in its path and is further reputed as a man eater.
Want to see Nile crocodiles and examine their scales even closer? We wouldn’t advise you to tread near them, but you can find them at Central Island National Park in Turkana and at the Sibiloi National Park.