The Fox as a Judge

There was once a mischievous monkey, as restless as all monkeys are. She climbed everywhere and poked her nose into everything.

One day, the monkey saw a pile of stones, and curiosity got the better of her. "I must find out what's hidden here!" She scattered the stones, and a hole was revealed. The restless monkey stuck her paw inside, hoping to find something tasty, but out of the hole crawled a huge snake!

The snake emerged from its dark prison and hissed, lunging at the monkey.

"My foolish head!" the monkey scolded herself. "Why did I go into that hole? Did I really think I'd find a jar of oil?"

"Have mercy on me, great dragon!" she begged the snake. "Had I known these were your domain, I would never have dared to disturb your peace!"

But how could a snake show mercy? What kind of snake would it be then?

"There is no forgiveness for you!" the snake hissed. "You woke me, and only death will atone for your sin!"

At that very moment, a fox was passing by. The monkey had heard of the fox's cunning and stopped her.

"Let the wise fox settle our dispute," said the monkey.
"Very well, fox, speak your judgment," agreed the snake.
"There are no witnesses, and I myself saw nothing. How can I judge you fairly?" said the fox. "Show me how it all began. You, snake, must crawl back into your hole, and you, monkey, must gather the stones back into a pile."

The snake liked the reasonable judge.

"I was sitting in my hole. Like this," said the snake. She put her head into the hole and slowly disappeared.
"Now it's your turn, don't delay!" the fox whispered to the monkey, winking slyly.

The monkey quickly covered the hole with stones. Then the fox said:

"Hear my judgment, ungrateful snake. You were angry because you were set free, so now sit in your dark hole and sleep as long as you wish! The foolish monkey will no longer disturb your slumber."

And from that day on, the monkey stopped poking her nose where it didn't belong.

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The Fox as a Judge

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