The World of the Great Forest

A troop of monkeys were looking down one day from the top of a tree at a lagoon studded with mud banks, and saw a large number of ngandos basking in the sun. They laughed at them, and said: "Ngandos are big and ugly; but they cannot climb trees, and come and gobble us into their big, ugly mouths. Strange it is that their enormous mouths are only good for eating; but this must be so, for we never hear them talk. " The crocodiles were very numerous, and could hardly be distinguished from the mud upon which they lay. Many of them were more than twenty feet in length.

The monkeys were making all kinds of disparaging remarks about the crocodiles, who could hear their chatter, but did not move or wink. "No creature," said one of the monkeys, "looks as stupid and lazy as the ngandos. Look at them! " and all the monkeys laughed. The crocodiles did not understand the language of the monkeys, and even if they had been able to, they could not have gone to fight them, as they could not climb trees and jump from one limb to another. Had they even thought of trying, the monkeys would have laughed at them still more.