Serving as a moral guide, the retelling of “The Monkey and the Berry Tree” from the Panchatantra (or “The Unforgiving Monkey”) helps young people grasp that sharing is much sweeter than having everything to oneself, ultimately emphasizing the vital values of trust and forgiveness over the pitfalls of greed and vindictiveness. Read the complete book with rich illustrations below.

Deep in a sunny jungle lived a happy troop of monkeys. Their chief, Rishi, was the oldest and wisest. “Our home is wonderful,” Rishi would say. “We have everything we need.”

One day, they found a special tree in the King’s garden. It was filled with the most delicious-looking red berries they had ever seen! “Wow!” chattered the little monkeys.

Rishi saw the berries. “Wait,” he warned. “These belong to King Raja. We must not eat them until he says it’s okay. Good things come to those who wait.”

Just then, a grumpy ram named Munch stomped by. “Nonsense!” he bleated. “If you see something yummy, you should eat it all up right away! Don’t listen to him.”

The little monkeys looked at the juicy berries. They forgot all about Rishi’s wise words and decided to listen to Munch the greedy ram instead.

The monkeys scrambled up the tree and gobbled the berries. They ate and ate until not a single berry was left. Their tummies felt very, very full. Oof!

The kind King Raja came to his garden. He had a big basket because he wanted to share the berries with everyone. When he saw the empty tree, he was very sad.

“Oh dear,” said the King. “Because the monkeys were greedy, now there are no berries left for anyone to share.” He put a small fence around the tree to let it grow new berries in peace.

The little monkeys were sad. Their tummies hurt from eating too much, and they felt bad for not sharing. They went to Rishi. “You were right,” they chirped softly. “We should have listened.”

From then on, the monkeys always remembered to listen to wise advice. They learned that sharing is much sweeter than having everything all to yourself!

* © Developed with the assistance of Gemini.ai by Henrik Frederiksen [Founder ElephantTribe.org]

** Original Story from The Patantra: Book V “Ill-Considered Actions”