1. The Monkey and the Pig

2. Once upon a time in Japan, a man had a monkey. People paid to see the monkey dance.

3. One night the man came home in a bad mood. He told his wife, "The monkey is too old. He forgets his tricks. I hit him, but he won’t dance well now.”

4. “Tomorrow,” said the man, “I will sell the monkey to the butcher.” The wife was very surprised. A butcher is a man who kills animals and sells meat. She asked her husband, "Why do you want to sell him to the butcher?" “The butcher will pay me and then sell him as meat,“ he said. The wife was very sad for the little monkey. She asked the man to change his mind. But he yelled, “No, no, no! I’ve made up my mind!”

5. The monkey was in the next room. He heard what they said. He knew he was going to be killed. The monkey said, "This isn’t fair! I have worked hard for the man for years. I am old, that’s true. But he should let me die naturally. Now he is going to let the butcher kill me, and I will be cooked, and then I will be eaten! What am I going to do?”

6. Then the monkey had an idea. “A pig lives in the woods. He is very wise. If I go to him and tell him my sad story, maybe he will tell me what to do. Tonight I will go and try to find him.“

7. That night, when the man and woman were sleeping, the monkey sneaked quietly out of the house and quickly ran to the woods to find the pig.

8. "Mr. Pig, I’ve heard that you’re wise. I’m in trouble. Only you can help me," he said. The pig was at home. The monkey told his sad story. "I’m old and I can't dance well now, and my owner wants to sell me to the butcher! What should I do? I know how smart you are."

9. The praise made the pig happy, so he wanted to help the monkey. He thought quietly. Then he asked, "Does your owner have a baby?" "Yes, said the monkey. “He has one baby boy." "Does the wife let the baby play next to the door in the morning when she begins her work?” “Yes, she does.” “Well, I’ll come early, before the butcher comes. I’ll grab the baby and run away with it." "How will that help me?" asked the monkey.

10. "The mother will be scared,” said the pig. “Before the man and his wife know what to do, you run after me and chase me. I’ll give you the baby. When you take him home to his mother and father, they won't have the heart to sell you to the butcher."

11. The monkey thanked the pig many times. He went home. He did not sleep much the rest of that night. He was the first to get up. Then he waited and waited.

12. Finally, after a long time, the wife got up. First, she opened the shades to let in the sunlight. Next, the mother put her baby next to the door. Then, she began to make breakfast.

13. The baby was singing in the morning sunlight, and he was patting the floor where the sun shone. He was happy.

14. Suddenly there was a loud noise outside, and the baby began to cry. When the mother ran out of the kitchen, she saw the pig running through the gate with her baby.

15. She ran to the bedroom. The man was still sleeping. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He asked, “Why are you so noisy?”

16. When his wife told him what happened, they both ran to the door. The gate was open. But the pig was gone.

17. They saw the monkey chasing the pig as fast as he could run.

18. Both the man and his wife thought the monkey was brave to chase the pig. When the monkey came home with the baby, they were very, very happy.

19. "See?" said the wife. "You wanted to sell this brave monkey to the butcher. If the monkey hadn't been here, we would have lost our baby." "You’re right," said the man. He took the baby into the house. "When the butcher comes for the monkey, please tell him to go back to his store," he said. "Now let’s have a good breakfast. And we’ll invite the monkey to eat breakfast with us."

20. When the butcher came to the door, instead of getting money from the butcher, the man and his wife paid the butcher money to bring them some pork for dinner!

21. They petted the monkey, and he lived many more happy years. The man never hit him again.