Clever Monkey and Brother Boar

A long time ago, in a small village, there lived a man named Hari. Hari used to travel from village to village showing monkey dances, and earned his living from that.One evening, Hari came home very angry. He told his wife, "Call the meat shop owner tomorrow morning, I have some business with him."His wife was surprised. She asked, "Why? Why call the butcher?"Hari said crossly, "This monkey has become old now. It has forgotten all its old dances. Even when I hit it with a stick, it does not dance well. Now, I will have to sell it and take whatever money comes out of it. There is no other way."The wife felt immense love for that small monkey. She pleaded, saying, "Poor thing! Let's not sell it, it has supported us for many years." But Hari did not agree. He had already made up his mind to sell the monkey.Sitting in the adjacent room, the monkey was listening to everything. Upon knowing that they were planning to kill him, he became very scared. He said to himself, "How cruel my master is! I served him for so many years, but now in my old age, instead of letting me live in comfort, he is going to sell me to a butcher!"The monkey thought further, "What do I do now? Oh, I've got an idea! A clever Brother Boar lives in the nearby forest. Everyone says he is very knowledgeable. I will go to him and ask for help."Time was short. The monkey secretly slipped out of the house and ran to the forest. Brother Boar was resting in his cave. Crying, the monkey shared all his troubles.He said, "Brother Boar, you are very wise. I am in big trouble. The master is planning to sell me to a butcher saying I have become old. Only you can save me, please tell me some way!"Hearing the monkey flatter him like this, Brother Boar became happy. He thought for a while and said, "Your master has a small child, right?"The monkey said, "Yes, he has a small son."The boar said, "Tomorrow morning when your mistress starts doing the household chores, she probably places the child right by the door. I will come at that very moment, pounce on the child, and pretend to run away with him.""What will happen after that?" the monkey asked.The boar explained, "Seeing her child being taken by a boar, the mother will get very panicked. When the master and mistress are terrified about what to do, you come chasing after me. Then, take the child back home as if you rescued him from me. Seeing that you saved their child, they will never sell you."The monkey thanked Brother Boar very much and returned home. That night, he could not sleep at all. Worried about what would happen tomorrow, he woke up early in the morning and began to wait.Morning came. Hari's wife opened the door and started cleaning the house. As usual, she placed her small child on the porch to bask in the sun.The child was happy, playing in the sun. Suddenly, the boar emerged from the bushes, grabbed the child, and ran. As soon as the mother saw this, she cried and screamed. She ran inside to call Hari, who was sleeping within.By the time Hari came out wiping his eyes, the boar had gone quite far. But what they saw was that the small monkey was running after the boar putting in all his strength.Seeing such courage from the monkey, Hari and his wife were astonished. In a little while, the monkey rescued the child from the boar and brought him back, placing him safely in the mother's lap. They became very happy.The wife said, "Look at that! You were trying to kill it. If this monkey hadn't been here today, the boar would have taken our child away. This turns out to be the protector of our family!"Hari also realized his mistake. He said, "You said it right. Now when the butcher comes, I will send him back. Go, give this monkey a delicious snack today as well."When the butcher arrived, Hari sent him back without selling anything. After that, Hari never beat the monkey and started loving him very much. That monkey lived the rest of his life in that house with peace and happiness.