The Monkey and the Pea
Also known as Kalayamutthi Jataka
- 2 minute read
- Ages 5-9
- Jataka Tales
An army was on the march and stopped to rest, and the horses were given peas.
A troop of monkeys came down out of the trees to watch, and one of them got down onto the ground and filled both hands with peas from a trough while nobody was looking, and then stuffed his mouth as well.
He went back up into the tree with more than he could carry.
The one pea
On the way up, a single pea slipped out of his hand and fell.
The monkey stopped on the branch and looked down at it.
It was lying on the ground about ten feet below, one pea, among the trampled grass.
He thought about it for a moment.
Then he came down.
What happened
He put both handfuls down on the branch to free his hands for climbing, which he had to do, and he went down to get the one pea.
While he was on the ground looking for it, the other monkeys came along the branch and took everything he had left there.
And by the time he found the pea, which took longer than he expected because a single pea in trampled grass is very hard to see, and climbed back up, the branch was empty.
He sat there with one pea.
The king
The king of that country was watching all of this from his tent, and he called his adviser over and said something the story records.
"That is exactly what I am doing."
He was preparing a war over a small province on his border which he did not need and could not easily hold, and he had been about to leave the rest of his kingdom to fight it.
He gave the order to turn the army round the same afternoon.
Moral of the story
He came down for one pea and lost two handfuls. The king watching worked out in ten seconds that he was about to do the same thing with an army.
Questions and answers
- How did the monkey get the peas?
He came down while the army rested and took two handfuls from a horse trough, and filled his mouth as well.
- What made him go back down?
A single pea slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
- Why did he have to leave the rest behind?
He needed both hands to climb, so he put the two handfuls on the branch.
- What happened while he was on the ground?
The other monkeys took everything he had left on the branch.
- What did the king realise?
That he was about to leave his whole kingdom to fight over a small border province he did not need, which was the same mistake.
Word meanings
- trough
- A long open container that animals eat or drink from.
- trampled
- Crushed flat by being walked on.
- province
- A region or part of a country.
- adviser
- Someone who gives advice to a ruler.
Questions about The Monkey and the Pea
What is the moral of The Monkey and the Pea?
That chasing a small loss can cost you everything you were holding. It is a very short story making a single point.
Why does the king appear in it?
Because the Jataka tales are usually told as lessons for someone. Here the story and its application arrive in the same scene.
Is this suitable for young children?
Yes, ages five and above. Nothing bad happens to anyone and the monkey simply ends up with one pea.
What is this tale called in the original?
It appears as the Kalayamutthi Jataka, meaning 'a handful of peas'.