Once upon a time a cow belonging to a human being was eaten by a lion and that was the first time for the lion to eat the meat of a cow. The lion did this in a place where he thought there was no one who could see what he was doing. But he didn’t realise that the monkey was in a tree nearby while he was eating the cow. After he had finished eating, the lion realized he had been seen.“Please don’t tell the man that I have eaten his cow. And if I hear that it is known that the cow was eaten, I will know that you have revealed it to the man, and I will deal with you!” he told the monkey menacingly.

The man searched and searched for his missing cow for a long time and even after a number of years he heard nothing of the whereabouts of his cow. He could not even find the location where his cow might have been eaten. He kept on searching for his cow until one day he decided to use any other peaceful means to find out where his cow had gone. He thought about which animal stays in the bush but does not eat cows.

He decided to invite the monkey to his home. He prepared the best food that the monkey liked – the food that is said to be given to a very respectable visitor – alcohol. He knew that the monkey liked alcohol very much.  He bought a concentrated alcohol which he knew the monkey would really like. They sat together in his house for the whole day. The monkey drank and drank very well. They discussed all their secrets until the end of the day.

Now, the man did not want to ask directly about his cow, so he skirted around it and asked about many other issues instead.

The monkey knew that one of his friend’s cows was eaten by the lion and also knew that the man was still searching for his cow. At last, the monkey said to the man, “My friend, I am going, but I have something that I want to tell you, but my problem is that I don’t trust you, that is why I haven’t told you this.”

The man replied, “My dear friend, if you have not fully decided to share with me what you want to tell me, then leave. But if you think you should tell it to me, then tell it to me! I trust you very much that is why I invited you to my place and I believe I shared with you all my secrets today. ”The monkey then said to him, “What I want to tell you is… Did you have a cow which got lost some time back?”

“Yes! My cow got lost and I even forgot about it,” replied the man, casually.

“Your cow was eaten by the lion,” the monkey told him. “I saw the lion eating your cow. I can even tell you how the cow fell down when the lion attacked it. I was up in the tree near that place.”

When the man saw that the story was true, based on the information from the monkey, he went to the court which was headed by the fox.

When he opened the case in the court, the fox, as head of the court, also came to know that the information had been revealed by the monkey. The lion was called to the court to hear the narration of the man against him. The lion arrived and the man was asked to say again what he said in the absence of the lion about his lost cow. The man talked and talked and talked. The lion noted that all that the man said was true and then he said, “I don’t want this case to be handled until you call the monkey here. Let the monkey come here!”

The monkey was called and he turned up to attend the court hearing. Upon arrival, the head of the court, Mr. Fox, asked the monkey to narrate his story. The fox instructed the monkey to tell the truth and jump up into the tree if the lion wanted to eat him. The monkey was very much fearing to be killed by the lion and took courage to narrate the real story as it was said by the man. The monkey said, “The cow was eaten by you Mr. Lion!”

The lion asked the court, “It was me? If am the one who ate the cow, then how did it fall down?”

“You tackled it from the left side!” replied the fearful monkey.

The lion kept quiet and became ashamed and realized that what he had done had really been seen. But everyone in the court was really afraid of the lion.

The fox had to decide and finish the case. He said, “You lion were in the right because you ate the cow when you were hungry; and you, the owner of the cow, are in the right because the cow belonged to you and not the lion; and the monkey too is right. But what I would say to you Monkey, is- What can I tell you when the tree of your father is just near you?”

Upon hearing that statement, the monkey immediately jumped into the tree and the Fox ran away, the man disappeared and the lion had no choice but to go.