Texas Temple

The Cap Seller and the Monkeys Past and Present

Once upon a time, there was a nice young man. He used to sell caps for a living, and roam around several villages. One day he would be in one town and on the next day, people would find him in a different one. It was an afternoon in summer and he was traversing the vast plains when he felt tired and wanted to have a nap. He found a nice mango tree with lots of branches and cool shade, placed his bag of caps beside him, and went to sleep. Tired as he was, he quickly fell fast asleep. After a refreshing little nap, he woke up, and found that there were not any caps in his bag! “Oh, God,” he said to himself, “did the thieves have to find me, of all people?” Then he noticed that the mango tree was full of cute monkeys wearing colorful caps! He yelled at the monkeys, and they screamed back. He made faces at them, but found that the monkeys were experts at making faces as well. He threw a stone at them, and they showered him with raw mangoes!

“Oh God, how do I get my caps back,” he exclaimed. Frustrated, he took off his own cap and threw it on the ground. Lo and behold, the stupid monkeys threw their caps down as well! The smart cap seller did not waste a second. He collected all his caps and was on his way.

50 YEARS LATER….The grandson of the famous topiwala (cap seller), named Abdul, who was also working hard at making $$$, running his family business, was walking through the same jungle. After a long while, he was very tired and found a nice mango tree with lots of branches and cool shade. He decided to rest, and very soon was fast asleep. A few hours later, he woke up, and realized that all the caps from his bag were gone! The cap seller started searching for his caps and to his surprise, found some monkeys sitting on a mango tree wearing his caps. He was frustrated and did not know what to do.

Then he remembered a story his grandfather proudly used to tell him. “Yes!”, “I can fool these monkeys!” said the cap seller. “I’ll make them imitate me and very soon I’ll get all my caps back!” He waved at the monkeys, and the Monkeys waved back at him.

He blew his nose - the Monkeys blew their noses

He started dancing - the Monkeys also danced.

He pulled his ears - the Monkeys pulled their ears.

He raised his hands - the Monkeys raised their hands.

He threw his cap on the ground. Suddenly, one of the monkeys jumped down from the tree, grabed the cap seller’s cap, walked up to the cap seller; slapped him and said,

“Do you think ONLY YOU HAD A GRANDFATHER?”

The Tiger and the Greedy Man

An old tiger lived in a forest. He was not strong. He could not hunt the other animals. He starved for many days. One day he thought of a plan. He said, “I shall go to the river and take a bath. Then, I shall sit on the bank. In one paw, I shall hold some sacred kusa grass. In the other paw, I shall hold a gold bangle.”

He carried out his plan. Every day he sat on the bank of the river with the kusa grass in one hand and the gold bangle in the other. For some days, no one came that way. The tiger was sad and hungry.

After a week, an old man passed his way. He was a poor and greedy man. The tiger saw him and said, “Come here, good sir, I will give you a gold bangle. You can give it to your wife or daughter, or you can sell it for a lot of money.” The old man saw the gold bangle. He thought, “The tiger has spoken kind words to me. He is very old too. He will not do me any harm.” Then the old man asked the tiger, “You are sitting on the opposite bank of the river. Is the river very deep? Can I cross it safely? How can I trust you?”

The tiger replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. I am very old. I have lost all my teeth. I bathe in the river every day and give presents to the poor. The river is not very deep. You can easily come to me and take the bangle from my hand.”

The greedy old man trusted the words of the tiger. He got into the water and walked a few steps. The river was not very deep. In a few minutes, he was very near the opposite bank. However, suddenly his feet sank into mud. The tiger said to him, “Do not be afraid, old man. I will come and pull you out.” Then the tiger walked slowly to him, pulled him out, and ate him!