309 tale 27 / Learning
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Learning
Once there was a young
monkey, who wanted to learn something about life. Therefore, he asked some older
monkeys, but they couldn’t really answer his questions. So, he left his small
village and went into the mountains. There near a fountain, he saw a very old
monkey with grey and white hair. Our young monkey thought that this grey one
had to be so old that he should know at least something about life.
“Oh, honoured wise
monkey!” the young addressed him, “can you tell me something about life?” The
old didn’t even look at him, just left his paw pointing to a cave.
The young understood that
he should go into the cave. When he entered, he saw some bananas filled with
honey and covered with coconut slivers. He was hungry, so he ate some. Then,
he was thirsty and remembered the fountain. Therefore, he came out off the
cave and bend down at the water to drink. When his lips touched the
refreshing wet, he felt a kick in his rear and fell into the cold pond.
When his head come up to
the surface of the water again, he saw the old monkey with angry eyes but a
big smile on his face. The young understood that he had eaten up the entire
old monkey’s food and therefore was punished. He swam to the other side of
the pond, climbed out, dried himself a bit and went away.
The next day, he went to
see the old monkey again, because he felt he could learn a lot from him. When
he arrived, the old monkey sat on his usual place between the cave and the
fountain. The young bowed deeply in front of him and waited. Then, the old
lifted his paw pointing to the cave and the young went in. This time, he
didn’t touch any of the food but went on further into the cave. It was very
dark inside, so he put his hands in front in order not to run against
anything. Nevertheless, when he advanced, his head hit something. It was a
branch of a tree put up there by the old. Maybe the old wanted to tell him to
protect his head over all. For that day, he thought he had learned enough and
left the cave. Outside, he bowed low to the old and went away.
The following morning, he
found the old monkey near the fountain watching the sky. He bowed low and
went into the cave again. This time, he held his hands in front of his head
and went on in the dark. He could feel the branch with his hands and thought
he had already learned something. Nevertheless, after some steps, he fell
over a branch laid on the floor. A new lesson for today, he thought and left
the cave.
The fourth day, the young
monkey had brought a torch in order to find his way through the labyrinths of
the cave. It was a wonderful cave. The old monkey or older generations had
painted beautiful animals and flowers on the wall. It was like a holly
temple. He had spent a lot of time in the cave and his torch went to an end.
He could hardly find the way out.
The fifth day, the young
monkey had two torches and could go a very long way in the cave. When the first
torch came to an end, he lit the second torch with the last spark and came
out happily.
The cave had totally
occupied his imagination and he decided to go till the end of the cave.
Therefore, the sixth day, he took many torches with him to help him. When he
arrived near the fountain, he found the old monkey sleeping. The young didn’t
want to disturb him, lit his first torch and went in.
He wandered for a long
time and when half of his torches had burned down, he had to decide whether
to go on or back. He vacillated for a moment, but then went back to the
entrance.
The seventh day, he did
not come to the cave. The wish to discover the end and the fear of getting
stuck in it fought in his mind.
Finally, the eighth day,
he took as many torches as he could and when he got to the fountain, he knelt
down in front of the old monkey and asked him whether he had ever gone
through the whole cave. The old looked at him but didn’t answer. They sat
there for a long time.
The young’s hands were
wet, he was sweating all over his body. Suddenly, the young got up, lit his
first torch and stepped into the cave. Fast, he rushed through the different
chambers and cells, he already knew. Torch after torch burnt down, but he had
decided he would go till the end.
When his last torch had
gone, he sat down for a moment. What was he going to do now?
After some time, he got
to his feet, but he didn’t take the way back.
On and on he went and
doubts came into his mind. More and more often, he sat down to have a rest.
Unexpectedly, it was like
having heard some kind of sound. Was it real or had he just imagined it? He
went on into the direction of it. He sat down listened, went on. He sensed a
kind of fresh air breeze. There had to be an exit somewhere around there, he thought.
He went on for some more
time when he suddenly perceived a gleam of a light somewhere in the far.
Sometimes, he hit his
head of elbows into protruding rocks, but the light came nearer. He knew he
had found the exit. Happiness grew in his heart.
Actually, the hole was
very small and he had to get some smaller rocks out of his way, but the
evening sun shone smoothly into the exit of the cave. He had been under earth
a whole day, he thought.
Nevertheless, when he
finally could get out of the cave, he was rather disappointed. Below him,
there was a deep abyss and the peak of the rocky wall far above him.
It was getting dark and
he could not climb at night. Hunger and
thirst tormented him. He realized that he hadn’t eaten nor drunk all day
long.
He decided to stay where
he was and have a rest. The next morning he would decide whether to climb or
to try to go back the way in the cave. Both options seemed rather impossible.
He could hardly wait for
the sun to rise and when he looked around, he was close to tears. He decided
to climb because he calculated that he would probably not find the way back
the other entrance of the cave.
Several times, he slipped
and nearly fell some off the rock wall. It took him two days to come to the
bottom.
When he finally reach the
foot of the rock wall, he laid down and totally exhausted fell asleep.
Then, he found some water
and food and tried to find the way back to his valley.
It took him another week
to get back to the old monkey, the fountain and the entrance of the cave.
When he arrived, he had
come from the other side and the old monkey was sitting with his back to him.
The young knelt down and
told the old what he had experienced.
His account ended with:
“Sometimes, learning is sweet, sometimes sour, hard and tender, …………….., but
it’s never what it looks like, it’s always surprising.”
All the time of his story
telling, the old monkey had not moved.
He found out that the old
could not understand him because he was deaf.
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Monday, 30 December 2019
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