On the banks of a wide, slow river, there grew a magnificent rose-apple tree. Its branches stretched over the water, dropping sweet red fruit into the current all summer long. In this tree lived a monkey — cheerful, quick, and always hungry for rose-apples.
One day a crocodile swam up from the deep part of the river, looking thin and tired. The monkey, being a generous soul, tossed a handful of rose-apples into the water. The crocodile ate them and his eyes went wide — they were the most wonderful thing he had ever tasted.
"Please, may I have more?" asked the crocodile.
"Come every day," said the monkey. "There are enough for both of us."
And so began a fine friendship. Every evening the crocodile swam to the tree, the monkey dropped fruit, and they talked until the stars came out — about the river and the forest, about fish and birds and the taste of rain.
But the crocodile had a wife at home. When she heard about the rose-apple tree, she thought only one thing: If the monkey eats such sweet fruit every day, his heart must be sweeter than honey itself. I want that heart.
She told her husband to bring the monkey home — one way or another.
The crocodile was miserable. He did not want to betray his friend. But his wife would not eat, would not sleep, and wept until he could bear it no more.
The next evening he swam to the tree wearing a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Friend," he said, "my wife has heard so much about you. She wishes to meet you and cook you a fine dinner. Come, sit on my back — I will carry you across."
The trusting monkey leapt onto the crocodile's back with great excitement. They had gone halfway across the river when the crocodile slowed and sighed heavily.
"I must tell you the truth," said the crocodile. "My wife wants your heart. I am sorry. There is nothing I can do."
The monkey's heart hammered. But he did not panic. He took three slow breaths and thought.
"Oh!" he said at last, slapping his forehead. "But why didn't you tell me earlier? I always leave my heart at home on the tree. I never carry it while I travel — it is too precious. Take me back and I will fetch it."
The crocodile turned around immediately. The moment they touched the riverbank, the monkey sprang up the tree in one leap and sat on the highest branch.
"Foolish crocodile," he called down. "Does any creature keep its heart outside its body? Go home. You have lost a friend today — and you have not gained a heart either."
The crocodile swam away slowly, his head low. And the monkey sat in his tree for a long time, watching the water, thinking about how sometimes the people we trust the most are the ones we must be most careful about.