tale 12 son of the water Written by Rainer: rainer.lehrer@yahoo.com Learn languages (via Skype): Rainer: + 36 20 549 52 97 or + 36 20 334 79 74

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Son of the water It was morning and the monkey was woken up by the singing birds in the neighbourhood. He thought a cold bath would bring him totally to his senses. Under the tree where he slept there used to be a small river and every morning he jumped straight into it. With half closed eyes he went forward on the biggest branch and then jumped. But he was very surprised when he found himself not swimming in fresh water but sitting in deep mud. He opened his eyes and looked around. Nearly all the water had disappeared, only two or three fish had saved themselves in some smaller pools. The sleepy mouse came out of her hole with a towel over one arm, put her hands down where she thought the river to be and with a quick movement poured the content of her hands over her head. She had a very puzzled expression in her face when mud ran down her face. The monkey in the mud having followed the scene gave a big laughter. So, the mouse being angry took some mud in her hand and threw it at the monkey. A small mud battle began and the birds in the trees watched with their beaks forming an ever bigger grin. As the morning went on, many other animals came to the river to drink, bath and wash, and at the beginning they all laughed at the monkey and mouse covered with mud, but after a while they began to think what might had happened to the river and its water. Then the beaver arrived, “I can solve the problem,” he said. Everybody looked at him with surprise. “Wait till tomorrow and you will have water in the river again!” The next morning the animals gathered at the river shore and in front of their eyes, the water level grew. Everybody jumped into the water, drank and washed. Then the beaver appeared and the animals thanked him for his goodness. “I’m the son of the water,” he told them, “and I can make the water appear and disappear. You must build me a temple and praise me there.” The animals built him a temple and everyday brought fish and fruit for their son of the water. Only the monkey did not participate, instead he went up the river to see what had really happened. A bit up the river at the foot of the mountain chain, the beaver had built a dam. The monkey thought it a good idea because that way the quantity of water running down the riverbed could be controlled. In times of flood, some water could be held back and in times of drought, water could be released. The monkey agreed that the beaver should be paid for his effort in form of fish and fruit, but he disagreed with the beaver being praised as a god. He didn’t tell the other animals anything about his discover because they wouldn’t have understood it anyway, as they wanted to believe in something supernatural. Then one day when the beaver was at work, a tiger appeared behind him and wanted to attack him. Accidentally, the monkey being around saw it and quickly threw a liana around the tiger’s neck. Of course, the tiger could free himself of the liana but the beaver had had enough time to reach the river and bring himself out of danger. Then the monkey went up to the beaver, “Will you now build me a temple and praise me there?” The beaver felt very ashamed but before he could say anything, the monkey had turned around and walked away. From that time on, the beaver served the valley and always paid attention that the river had the right quantity of water. The monkey did neither expect the beaver building him a temple to praise him there, nor told the other animals about the truth. He knew the beaver needed recognition and the animals needed to believe in a higher power, he only hoped that one day all of them would grow up to realise that they all needed each other’s help and solidarity. Continue with tale 13!

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