A PRINCE had some Monkeys trained to dance. Being naturally great
mimics of men’s actions, they showed themselves most apt pupils, and
when arrayed in their rich clothes and masks, they danced as well as
any of the courtiers. The spectacle was often repeated with great
applause, till on one occasion a courtier, bent on mischief, took from
his pocket a handful of nuts and threw them upon the stage. The Monkeys
at the sight of the nuts forgot their dancing and became (as indeed
they were) Monkeys instead of actors. Pulling off their masks and
tearing their robes, they fought with one another for the nuts. The
dancing spectacle thus came to an end amidst the laughter and ridicule
of the audience.