The Monkeys and the Gardener

Also known as Aramadusaka Jataka

3 minute read
Ages 6-10
Jataka Tales

A festival came round in the city, and the king's gardener wanted to go to it.

The royal garden needed watering while he was away. It was a hot week and the young trees would not survive being left.

There was a troop of monkeys living in the garden. They had been there for years, they were tame enough, and the gardener had an idea.

Would you water the garden?

He went to their leader.

"I am going to the festival for a few days. Would you water the young trees for me while I am gone? You may eat the fruit and the flowers as your payment."

The monkey leader was delighted to be asked. It was the first time anyone had given them a job.

"We will do it properly," he said. "Leave it to us."

The gardener left them the watering pots and went off to the city very pleased with himself.

Doing it properly

The monkey leader gathered the troop and gave them their instructions.

"We must not waste water," he said. "Some of these trees are large and some are small, and it would be foolish to give the same amount to each. So before you water a tree, pull it up and look at the roots. If the roots are long, it is a big tree and it needs a lot. If the roots are short, it needs only a little. Then put it back and give it the right amount."

The monkeys thought this was extremely sensible.

So they went through the entire garden.

They pulled up every young tree, one after another, examined the roots carefully, measured the water out according to what they found, put each tree back in its hole and watered it exactly as calculated.

They were thorough about it. It took them all day and they did not miss a single one.

The gardener returns

He came back to a garden of dead trees.

Every young tree he had planted was lying wilted in its hole, and the monkeys were sitting round waiting to be praised, because as far as they could see they had done a careful and intelligent job.

And a wise man passing on the road, hearing what had happened, said the thing that people have repeated ever since.

"A fool who is trying to help you will do more damage than an enemy who is trying to hurt you. The enemy at least knows what he is doing."

Moral of the story

Good intentions plus confident reasoning can be worse than laziness. Being willing is not the same as being able.

Questions and answers

Why did the gardener ask the monkeys for help?
He wanted to go to the festival and the young trees needed watering during a hot week.
What payment did he offer them?
They could eat the fruit and flowers in the garden.
What did the monkey leader tell his troop to do?
To pull up each tree first and look at its roots, so they could give more water to trees with long roots and less to those with short ones.
Why did the plan destroy the garden?
Pulling a young tree out of the ground kills it. The monkeys uprooted every single one, however carefully they replanted and watered it.
What did the wise man say?
That a foolish helper does more harm than a deliberate enemy, because at least the enemy understands what he is doing.

Word meanings

troop: A group of monkeys.
thorough: Doing something completely and carefully.
wilted: Drooping and dying, as a plant does without water.
uprooted: Pulled out of the ground with the roots.

Questions about The Monkeys and the Gardener

What is the moral of The Monkeys and the Gardener?

That a well-meaning helper who does not understand the task can cause more damage than someone acting against you. Enthusiasm is not a substitute for knowledge.

Are the monkeys being stupid or logical?

Their reasoning is genuinely logical. Bigger trees do need more water. They simply did not know that uprooting a sapling kills it, and nobody checked.

Whose fault is it really?

This is the best discussion the story offers. Many readers say the gardener, for handing a skilled job to workers he never trained.

What is this tale called in the original?

The Aramadusaka Jataka, meaning 'the spoiler of the garden'.