ONCE upon a time an old Woman was cooking, and she ran short of fuel.
She was so anxious to keep up her fire, that she tore out the hairs of
her head, and threw them upon the flame instead of fuel.
A Monkey came capering by, and saw the old Woman at her fire.
"Old Woman," said the Monkey, "why are you burning your hair? Do you
want to be bald?"
"O Monkey!" quoth the old Woman, "I have no fuel, and my fire will go
out."
"Shall I get you some fuel, mother?" said the Monkey.
"That's like your kind heart," said the old Woman. "Do get me some fuel,
and receive an old Woman's blessing."
The Monkey scampered away to the woods, and brought back a large bundle
of sticks. The old Woman piled the dry sticks on the fire, and made a
fine blaze. She put on her cooking-plank, and made four cakes.
All this while, the Monkey sat on his tail, and watched her. But when
the cakes were done, and gave forth a delightful odour, the Monkey got
up on his hind legs, and began dancing and cutting all manner of capers
round about the cakes.
"O Monkey," said the old Woman, "why do you caper and dance around my
cakes?"
"I gave you fuel," said the Monkey, "and won't you give me a cake?"
It seems to me that she might have thought of that without being asked;
but she did not, so the Monkey had to ask for it.
Well, the old Woman gave the Monkey one cake, and the Monkey took his
cake in high glee, and capered away.
On the way, he passed by the house of a Potter; and at the door of the
Potter's house sat the Potter's son, crying his eyes out.
"What is the matter, little boy?" asked the Monkey.
"I am very hungry," whimpered the Potter's son, "and I have nothing to
eat."
"Will a cake be of any use?" asked the kind Monkey.
The Potter's little Boy stretched out his hand, and into his hand the
Monkey put his cake. Then the little Boy stopped crying, and ate the
cake, but he forgot to say thank you. Perhaps he had never been taught
manners, but the Monkey felt sad, because that was not the kind of thing
he was used to.
The Potter's little Boy then went into the shop, and brought out four
little earthenware pots, and began to play with them. He took no more
notice of the Monkey, now that he had eaten his cake; but when the
Monkey saw these earthenware pots, he began to dance and cut capers
round them, like mad.
"Why are you dancing round my pots?" asked the little Boy. "Are you
going to break them, Monkey?"