The Monkey and The Dolphin

by Aesop
Hi there. My name is Bob Wilson from autoenglish.org and Im going to tell you a bedtime story.
A ship was sailing from Egypt to Venice and on board there was a big money. !ne night" when the ship as passing
the #ree Islands" there was a terrible storm.
$he big money felt seasic and went on dec for some air. An enormous wa%e washed o%er the ship and dragged
him into the sea and that should ha%e been the end of the big money.
&ow" sailors will tell you stories of how dolphins sometimes sa%e drowning men and" as luc would ha%e it" a little
dolphin noticed the big money drowning in the sea" although the little dolphin thought he was a man" not a
money" what with it being dar and there being a storm and all. With his nose" the little dolphin lifted the big
money out of the water and the big money hung on to his fin" his big dorsal fin" that is.
$he big money was too frightened and too tired to tal and so the little dolphin 'ust swam away from the storm as
fast as he could.
After a long time" the dar clouds departed and out came the stars and out came the Moon. $he stars shone bright"
I mean really bright and a shooting star flew across the sy. $hey could see lights from houses on the coast or the
islands of #reece" Im not sure which.
(emember" the little dolphin still thought the big money was a man and so said to him" in his s)ueay" clicy %oice"
*Are you from Athens+ I can tae you to Athens.,
$he big money" who was a cheey money e%en when half-drowned" said that he was indeed from Athens" from a
%ery rich family" hoping to fool the dolphin. *$hey will gi%e you a big reward for taing me there.,
*Athens" it is then", cliced the little dolphin. And as they streamed across the surface of the sea" the ne.t day
began. $he stars faded and the sy changed colour to beautiful blues. $he smells of a new morning brought life
bac to the half-drowned big money.
*/o you now 0iraeus+, cliced the little dolphin to the big money.
*!h" of course I do", replied the big money" who was in fact a maca)ue. *We%e been friends for years.,
0iraeus is the port of Athens" not a man at all and the little dolphin realised the big money had been lying to him
all along and he was really cheesed off about it. He tossed the maca)ue off his bac and into the sea with a splash.
$he maca)ue beat the water with his %ery long arms trying to stay afloat. *1oure an ape2, e.claimed the little
dolphin" e%en more cross now to see what a fool the money had made of him.
*0lease dont let me drown", begged the big money. *Im sorry I lied to you", he gasped" *but I was 'ust too tired to
tell you the truth.,
$he little dolphin was frowning when the big moneys head went under the water. He felt %ery insulted. $he big
money managed 'ust one more time to get his head abo%e water and gasped" *3a%e me and Ill tell you lots of
stories., He was spluttering water as he spoe. *I%e sailed the se%en seas. I%e had fantastic ad%entures and I
now lots.,
As the little dolphin thought to himself" *I en'oy a good tale", the money slipped under the wa%es for the final time.
*#osh" where is he+, cliced the little dolphin and slid under the sea and raised the ape out of the water on his
bac.
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*Very well" you cheey money" I accept your offer. 3it sideways" youll be more comfortable lie that4 and ha%e a
rest before you tell me stories. 1ou dont loo well.,
A warm #ree sun now shone strong and put life bac into our hairy friend. After a rest of half an hour he could
spea again" said than you to the dolphin and began.
*A fisherman" who was used to catching lots of fish" one day pulled in his nets to find 'ust one small fish.,
*0robably a sprat", cliced the dolphin.
*$he small fish begged the fisherman to throw him bac in the water. 5 Im worth nothing to you now. 6et me go and
Ill grow into a big fish and then you can sell me for lots of money.-
*,!nly if I catch you again",, replied the fisherman and so he decided to eep the small fish.,
*$he fisherman told his fishermen friends about his decision and they all agreed hed done the right thing. !f
course" within a few years all the fish were gone. $he fishermen had to lea%e and go and wor in the fields" which is
bac-breaing wor and not well-paid. $he fishermen were fools", concluded the big money.
*I was in 7i'i once" in the 0acific", continued the maca)ue" *and there the people ha%e a ne%er ending supply of big
fat delicious fish.,
*How+, cliced the little dolphin. It was a sub'ect close to his heart.
*Well", began the big money" * e%ery %illage has a part of the sea where no one can fish" e%er" and in that place
the fish grow fat and ha%e so many babies its ama8ing. And when these babies grow up" they lea%e home and so
the surrounding sea is always full of big fat fish.,
*9ool2, cliced the little dolphin. *&ow tell me another story.,
*$his is called", began the big money" ,man and mother nature.,
*Man declared that he was much cle%erer than all the other animals on the planet because no other animal new
how to use tools. And dolphins he said were no cle%erer than dogs.
-$hats a 'oe- laughed Mother &ature- and she showed man insects" birds and moneys using tools. $hen she
showed him the dolphins that li%e in 3har Bay in Australia who use two tools: sponges to clear away the sand to
find hiding fish and big shells as traps to catch them.
$hen man said he was the only one who recognised himself in mirrors. Mother &ature showed him that moneys
and of course dolphins also recognised themsel%es in mirrors while a lot of other animals get scared and attac
their own reflections.
$hen Mother &ature showed man that dolphins ha%e their own language and ha%e their own names and they
remember the names of their friends years and years after ha%ing seen them for the last time.
$hen Mother &ature pointed out that dolphins dont ill other dolphins and that they didnt pollute and poison the
places where they li%ed. Who then is more cle%er" dolphins or people+
Man was a bad loser and he turned his bac on Mother &ature and they stopped being friends. Man continued
doing and thining silly things" lie looing for petrol in the beautiful 'ungles of Ecuador" in 3outh America and also
in the gorillas home in the 9ongo in Africa. He was e%en poisoning all the water in England" looing for gas.,
$he little dolphin suddenly had a great idea and suggested to the maca)ue that they go and li%e in 7i'i" in the
0acific" where there are lots of fish and the people arent silly.
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*3plendid", said the big money. *Its a %ery long way so Ill need something to eat.,
3o they called in to the 0ort of 0iraeus where the money bought some grapes. $he little green grapes of #reece
are the most delicious grapes in the whole wide world" so the money was well pleased to get some.
!n their long 'ourney to 7i'i they stopped off at many places and our hairy friend tried fabulous fruits from all o%er
the planet. 0awpaws" baby bananas and mangosteens to name but three. $hey also had many fabulous
ad%entures.
!ne fine afternoon the little dolphin and the maca)ue finally arri%ed in 7i'i in the 0acific. 3oon they made friends
with the people. Indeed" some of them remembered the big money from his pre%ious trip. $he big money helped
them get coconuts down from the palm trees and the little dolphin helped them find fish and scared off the shars.
!ne fine day the little dolphin" who was no longer so little" met a beautiful lady dolphin. $hey were married and had
lo%ely children and the big money was their fa%ourite uncle" maybe because he was a cheey money.
&ight came and a gentle bree8e blew through the palm trees who bowed and swayed and whispered long whispers
to each other. $he wa%es lapped softly against the sandy shore and little crabs ran between the pieces of dar
brown wood washed up by the ocean. $he little dolphin was there chatting to his old friend the big money. $hey
laughed at all the ad%entures theyd had. $hey were %ery happy and %ery sleepy. $he stars shone bright" I mean
really bright and a shooting star flew across the sy. $hey could see the light from a bonfire in the %illage and hear
the people singing songs" as usual.
*$omorrow will be another lo%ely day", said the maca)ue to his friend" *1ou now" Im so glad we came here.,
*Me too" money. I really am.,
$he maca)ue shimmied up a palm tree and made a co8y nest out of the branches and lea%es. He lay bac" hands
behind his head ga8ing up at the stars. He heard a big splash and then" *#oodnight" 9heey Money", e%en though
he wasnt as cheey as he used to be. $he money was smiling.
*#oodnight" 6ittle /olphin", he answered" e%en though the little dolphin was now a big daddy dolphin.
*Ill come by bright and early", said the little dolphin and he slipped under the smooth dar sea.
$he big money was still smiling as his eyes grew hea%y and closed. It really was a good night.
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