The Filial Monkey chapter 3

Training Monkeys to Retrieve Treasures

Jack named the young monkey “Big Guy” and the baby monkey “Little Guy”. He chained them up and trained them every day. If they didn’t follow his commands, he would whip them. The neighbors who watched him train the monkeys scolded him for being cruel, as the whip was soaked in the monkeys’ blood. Under Jack’s strict training, the two monkeys made rapid progress and could follow some simple instructions.

One day, while Jack was training the monkeys at home, the town constable came to his place, followed by a carriage. A woman got out of the carriage, and it was the wife of the county sheriff. The sheriff’s wife had heard that Jack had two cute monkeys and wanted to see them. When “Little Guy” saw the sheriff’s wife, it jumped into her arms as if it had found a savior. The sheriff’s wife stroked “Little Guy” lovingly and said to Jack, “This monkey is so cute. I’ll buy it from you.” Without waiting for Jack’s answer, she threw two dollars on the ground and got back into the carriage. When “Little Guy” was taken away, “Big Guy” just let out two long cries as a farewell.

A year passed. “Big Guy” had grown into a strong adult male monkey and was even more obedient to Jack. Jack thought the time was right. He bought a long rope and took “Big Guy” to Eagle Rock. In America at that time, grave – robbing was a serious crime, and those caught would be sentenced to death. To avoid being seen, Jack decided to start from the top of the mountain.

Jack tied the rope around “Big Guy’s” neck, gave him a bag, and pointed in the direction of the burial cave, making a gesture of putting things into the bag. “Big Guy” understood and ran towards the cave with the bag in his hand. Jack let out the rope, but after only about twenty meters, he couldn’t let it out any further. The rope was caught by the thick bushes on the mountain. Jack had no choice but to pull “Big Guy” back.

Jack was extremely frustrated. His one – year – long plan seemed to have failed, but he was not willing to give up. At this time, “Big Guy” made a gesture, asking Jack to untie the rope. Jack hesitated. He knew that “Big Guy” was very smart, and untying the rope was like setting a wild animal free. After thinking for a long time, not wanting his efforts to go to waste, Jack decided to take a risk and untied the rope.

“Big Guy” followed Jack’s instructions and climbed towards the cave. After half an hour, Jack thought “Big Guy” had run away and started to sigh. But then, “Big Guy” came back with something in his hand. It was a beautiful jade carving about a foot long. Jack jumped up with joy and shouted, “I’m rich!”

That day, “Big Guy” retrieved more than twenty pieces of gold, silver, and jade for Jack. Jack returned home with a full load. He bought some meat and wine and got a little drunk. He even forgot to chain up “Big Guy” and fell into a deep sleep.