A mischievous monkey’s quest to remove a thorn from his tail leads to a series of trades and escalating demands, beginning with a barber’s razor and ending in firewood and cakes. However, his cunning comes to an abrupt end when he encounters a dog, which bites him fatally and eats the cakes. The tale humorously explores greed, consequences, and the unexpected twists of fate.
Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916
► Themes of the story
Cunning and Deception: Throughout the tale, the monkey employs deceitful tactics to achieve his goals, such as convincing the barber, the old woman, and the cake maker to give him what he desires.
Conflict with Nature: The monkey’s initial injury from a thorn and his subsequent encounters highlight a struggle against natural elements and creatures, culminating in his fatal encounter with the dog.
Tragic Flaw: The monkey’s greed and overconfidence serve as his downfall, illustrating how personal weaknesses can lead to one’s demise.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Philippines peoples
One day when a monkey was climbing a tree in the forest in which he lived, he ran a thorn into his tail. Try as he would, he could not get it out, so he went to a barber in the town and said: “Friend Barber, I have a thorn in the end of my tail. Pull it out, and I will pay you well.”
The barber tried to pull out the thorn with his razor, but in doing so he cut off the end of the tail. The monkey was very angry and cried: “Barber, Barber, give me back my tail, or give me your razor!”
► Continue reading…
The barber could not put back the end of the monkey’s tail, so he gave him his razor.
On the way home the monkey met an old woman who was cutting wood for fuel, and he said to her:
“Grandmother, Grandmother, that is very hard. Use this razor and then it will cut easily.”
The old woman was very pleased with the offer and began to cut with the razor, but before she had used it long it broke. Then the monkey cried:
“Grandmother, Grandmother, you have broken my razor! You must get a new one for me or else give me all the firewood.”
The old woman could not get a new razor so she gave him the firewood.
The monkey took the wood and was going back to town to sell it, when he saw a woman sitting beside the road making cakes.
“Grandmother, Grandmother,” said he, “your wood is most gone; take this of mine and bake more cakes.”
The woman took the wood and thanked him for his kindness, but when the last stick was burned, the monkey cried out:
“Grandmother, Grandmother, you have burned up all my wood! Now you must give me all your cakes to pay for it.”
The old woman could not cut more dry wood at once, so she gave him all the cakes.
The monkey took the cakes and started for the town, but on the way he met a dog which bit him so that he died. And the dog ate all the cakes.
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