The Greedy Monkey

by Aleksandr Yarashevich

Juan lived in a small village deep in the jungle. The residents of this village were monkeys, and their main source of food and currency was bananas. For most of the village’s existence, its inhabitants lived happy lives, with everyone having enough bananas and not having to worry about running out. Juan, on the other hand, was not as happy with his share of bananas. 

He dreamed of having more bananas than everyone else and being able to attain anything he wanted. He looked everywhere and asked everyone for bananas, and many people did help him out, thinking he really needed them. Juan, however, was still not satisfied with his wealth. He thought long and hard about his options and decided that stealing bananas was the only way to get what he desired. And so, Juan began plotting, and while he was doing this, he noted that many people stored their bananas right next to the entrance of their home. Juan decided that the next morning, while everyone was outside gathering more bananas, he would sneak into his neighbors’ homes and take just a few, making sure the neighbors didn’t notice. When morning rolled around, Juan was already preparing for his heist. He creeped to his neighbor’s door, while checking to make sure no one saw him, and he slowly opened it. This village was always safe, and everyone trusted each other, so no one bothered trying to keep people out of their homes. Once inside, it didn’t take long for Juan to find what he was looking for. Right in front of him, lay more bananas than he knew what to do with at the time. While his original intention was to take just a couple, he instead took a handful of bananas and ran off. The next day, he did the same thing but at a different house. He continued to do this every night, until he developed a route that he followed to get as many bananas as possible. He had, possibly, become the wealthiest monkey in the village, but still he was very stingy with his bananas. He kept it a secret, and never spent it, as he was too worried about losing it. One particular afternoon, while he was on his route, he got a little too greedy, and picked up more than he could carry. He figured he would be fine, as long as he made it home, which he did. But he was surprised to see all of the village’s inhabitants at his door that same day. When asked about the bananas, he denied having any, until he looked out the window. Juan was so distracted with picking up the bananas, that he didn’t notice the trail of bananas which he left from house to house. This finally made Juan realize how bad his actions were. After he gave back all the bananas he stole that day, he went to check his banana storage, and found that all his hard work was for nothing, because the bananas had rotted by the time he got to them.