The Dancing Monkeys
Aesop Fable: The Dancing Monkeys
A prince had some Monkeys trained to dance. Being naturally
great mimics of men’s actions, they showed themselves
most apt pupils, and when arrayed in their rich clothes and
masks, they danced as well as any of the courtiers. The
spectacle was often repeated with great applause, till on
one occasion a courtier, bent on mischief, took from his
pocket a handful of nuts and threw them upon the stage.
The Monkeys at the sight of the nuts forgot their dancing
and became (as indeed they were) Monkeys instead of actors.
Pulling off their masks and tearing their robes, they
fought with one another for the nuts. The dancing spectacle
thus came to an end amidst the laughter and ridicule
of the audience.
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