Stories - THE
WEDGE PULLING MONKEY
Once upon a time in a city, a merchant was having a temple built. Every day in the afternoon the workers went
out for lunch. The workers were
working on a huge log. Before they went out for lunch
they put a wedge between the split logs.
One day a group of monkeys came to the half built
temple. There the monkeys began their playful tricks on
the tree top, lofty roof and the wood pile.
One of the monkeys started playing on the huge log with
his feet inside the split logs. He did not stop his
playfulness there. He thought: “Who stuck this wedge in
this strange place?”
So he seized the wedge with both hands and started
pulling it loose. The wedge came off and his legs were
tightly stuck inside the split logs. He was in a lot of
pain and died before the workers returned.
Moral: Do not meddle with
unnecessary things.
(Story from Mitrabhedamu of
Panchatantra by sister Padmaja Gudipati)