The Foolish Friend
Also known as Murkh Mitra
- 2 minute read
- Ages 6-10
- Panchatantra Stories
A king kept a pet monkey who was allowed everywhere.
He went in and out of the private rooms, sat where he liked, and was trusted so completely that he was given a small sword to wear, the way a bodyguard would, because the king thought it was charming.
The monkey took it entirely seriously. He was devoted to the king and understood his position to be the protection of the royal person, and he attended to it constantly.
The afternoon
One hot afternoon the king lay down to sleep and the monkey took up his post beside the bed with a fan, keeping the air moving over him.
A bee came in through the window.
It went round the room twice and then settled on the king's chest.
The monkey waved the fan at it. The bee lifted, circled and came back. He waved harder. It went up and came down again, on the king's forehead this time, and would not be moved.
The monkey had by now decided that this was a serious matter. Something was landing repeatedly on a sleeping king who could not defend himself, and it was not responding to warnings, and the monkey had been given a sword for exactly this.
He drew it.
He took careful aim at the bee, because he wanted to be sure of it, and brought the sword down with everything he had.
Afterwards
The bee flew away unharmed.
The court came running at the noise and found the monkey standing by the bed with the sword in his hand, and the king dead, and the monkey entirely unable to explain what had gone wrong, because from where he stood nothing had.
He had guarded the king exactly as he had been told to. He had been loyal every day of his life and he was loyal at that moment.
It made no difference at all.
Moral of the story
A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend. Loyalty without judgement does more damage than an enemy could, because nobody sees it coming.
Questions and answers
- What position did the monkey hold?
He was the king's pet, trusted everywhere, and had been given a small sword to wear as a bodyguard.
- Why did the monkey take his role so seriously?
He was devoted to the king and genuinely understood his job to be protecting him.
- What was the problem with the bee?
It kept landing on the sleeping king and would not be driven off by the fan.
- Why did the monkey draw the sword?
He judged that something was repeatedly attacking a defenceless king and that he had been given a weapon for exactly that purpose.
- What is the lesson?
That loyalty without judgement is dangerous. The monkey did nothing disloyal and caused the worst possible outcome.
Word meanings
- devoted
- Very loyal and loving towards someone.
- post
- The place where someone is stationed on duty.
- defenceless
- Unable to protect oneself.
- judgement
- The ability to make sensible decisions.
Questions about The Foolish Friend
What is the moral of The Foolish Friend?
That a wise enemy is safer than a foolish friend. It is one of the most quoted lines in the Panchatantra.
How is this like the Jataka story of the mosquito?
They are the same lesson told twice in two traditions. In the Jataka a son kills his father swatting a mosquito with an axe; here a monkey kills a king swatting a bee with a sword.
Is the death described?
No. It is stated in one clause and the story moves immediately to the aftermath.
Why is the monkey not blamed?
The story is careful to say he was loyal at that moment and every moment before it. The failure is judgement, not character, which is the whole point.