The fourth monkey
“Ours is the most peaceful forest in the world,” said Mariappa, the proud teacher monkey of the kadi forest school.
Thimmappa, the student monkey said, “But, Sir! I have heard that some hunters have come to hunt us....”
“Shut up! Thimma , haven’t I taught you not to see, hear or speak evil things.”
“But sir! This is a serious matter. Our life can be in danger.”
“Don’t worry, Thimma, as far as you don’t see those evil hunters or hear their gun shots or speak ill of them, we are out of danger.”
‘Dun Dun,’ the bell rang. It was lunch break.
Bharathi Thimma’s friend also asserted on teacher’s words, by saying, “Look at the forest floor, it’s so peaceful, no sign of hunters nor any beast. Don’t you hear the lovely singing of the birds! So, there is no need to worry. Believe the teacher, he knows the best.”
Still confused he jumped from branch to branch to go to his home for lunch. On reaching home, he asked his mother, “Mummy! I heard that hunters have come to hunt us down.”
“Yes, Thimma, I did hear it from your father. He was saying that our guards have spotted four hunters near the great river,” affirmed his mother.
“That’s bad. Mummy! Do you believe in my teacher’s old saying that as far as we don’t see those bad hunters or hear their gunshots or speak ill of them, we are out of danger?”
“Yes. It’s true. Oh! Thimma you are wasting your time. You will be late to school. Have your lunch. Mangoes are very juicy.”
As Thimma grabbed his share of mangoes, he said, “So, you too believe it. But I don’t believe it. How can we be safe if they are constantly searching for an opportunity to hunt us down?”
“Oh! Thimma, you are worrying unnecessarily. You may not believe in the saying, but you can have trust in our guards. They will warn us of any danger, even before it comes.”
“Yah! I know that. But...”
“Thimma! You will be late get going, stop worrying and focus on your studies.”
“Ok! Mom, Bye!”
Bharathi was looking out of the class room wondering about Thimma. Teacher noticed her and asked, “What’s the matter, Bharathi?”
“Sir, Thimma has not yet come back. I wonder where he is!” replied Bharathi.
Thimma was on his way to the great river. He was determined to find out, what the hunters were up to. But, he had to be careful not to be noticed by the monkey guards as well as the hunters. So, he took the long route through the dense forest. As he reached the eastern part of the forest, he could hear some wired sounds.
“What kind of beast is this!” he thought.
As he cautiously moved towards the sound, he was horror struck, to see a huge iron beast ruthlessly cutting down the trees. He also noticed that the hunters were controlling the beast. One of the hunters noticed Thimma and aimed at him. But before he could shoot, Thimma began to swing back towards the great tree.
As Thimma made his way, he sounded the alarm, “Ki Ki Hee Hee Ki.” He was so loud that all the guards along the river bank heard him. Thus, all those who heard the alarm rushed to the great tree.
Now the great tree is a meeting spot for all the monkeys when the alarm is sounded. Before Thimma could reach, the monkeys and some other animals had gathered at the great tree. Everyone was confused as to why the alarm was sounded.
Finally Thimma reached. He silenced the crowd and spoke up, “I had been to the eastern edge of our forest. There I saw a great iron beast, controlled by the hunters. It was destroying trees. And it is making its way towards us.”
There was a total silence. Everyone was terrified. Then the teacher monkey shouted at Thimma, “You idiot Thimma, how many times I have told you not to see, hear or speak evil things. Let those evil hunters bare their own sins.”
“But!”
Thimma was interrupted by a great wise owl, “You monkeys are fools. You think by not seeing or hearing or speaking evil, you can be safe. No, you cannot. How come you have forgotten the great fourth monkey of your race? He was the one who overheard the evil plans of the masters of the great river to send the flood to the forest. He had not kept quiet, but rather he had spoken of it to your ancestors. That’s how they got to the higher grounds and saved themselves.”
By then the monkey king, Raja, had reached the spot. He rebuked the owl by saying, “So, now you owl of bad omen! Are you saying our three wise monkeys were fools to tell us not to see, hear or speak evil?”
“No! my Lord, not at all. I am just saying, what your great fourth wise monkey had said. Didn’t he say that unless you see or hear the evil, you will not know, how evil it is and how to defend yourself against it. And that you need to speak of the evil you have experienced so that others may be ready to face it, when it comes.”
The great Prophet monkey, Nathan, spoke up, “That’s true. Today Thimma has become our fourth monkey. He has spoken the evil that he has seen and has warned us. We must prepare to defend ourselves.”
One of the guards said, “But we cannot fight the hunters, they have guns. We will die for sure.”
“Defending does not mean fighting. We must flee from here before we are hunted down.”
Timma said, “But! Where can we go?”
Nathan looked at Raja and said, “We cannot keep running forever.”
Raja felt helpless and said, “Oh! The great wise owl, you have roomed the earth. You know more than us. Please help us to find a safe place.”
Since the owl didn’t respond, Nathan too requested it by saying, “You are our only hope, my friend.”
Owl thought for a while and said, “Yes, I think I can help you. Yesterday, i had been to the other side of the great river. There I had seen some humans with guns.”
Thimma interrupted, “What! Are they hunters?”
“I too doubted. But for my surprise, they did not hunt; rather they chased away the hunters and saved a bear from being hunted.”
Raja interrupted, “So you think they will save us.”
“I don’t know. But when I followed them I saw that they lived at the edge of the forest.”
“So, how does that help us?”
“May be if all the animals from this part of the forest migrate to their part, they may notice us. If the forest spirit wills, they may help us by chasing away the hunters.”
“That’s a good idea. Listen! My fellow monkeys and freinds we shall move towards the river. The guards will lead us,” announced Raja.
So, all the monkeys along with other animals and birds moved towards the river. Owl and other birds scanned the entire forest to see if anyone was left behind.
“River is too strong for the young babies and the old like me,” expressed Nathan.
The commander of the guards commanded his team to form a floating monkey bridge across the river. The young and the old monkeys and some smaller animals walked on the monkey bridge. While the other stronger beasts crossed on their own.
The Owl looking at the large number of animals, crossing over commented, “This is the largest exodus I have ever seen.”
It took almost entire night for all the animals to cross over to the other side. So many, had crossed that not a single leaf shed by the trees could reach the ground.
“Listen, You animals of kadi forest, we need to make lot of noise to draw the attention of those humans,” announced the owl throughout the forest.
The humans, who heard the noise, were horrified and ran away. Owl noticed it and communicated to others.
“What will we do now? Who will save us?” expressed Raja.
Then out of nowhere they heard a sound coming from above. All saw up. It was a giant iron bird. It was scanning the forest for something.
“Is it searching for prey? May be our noise attracted it,” said Thimma.
“No, I don’t think so. I have seen it before. Let me find out,” said the owl.
It was a helicopter of those humans. They were trying to figure out the cause of the exodus. The owl was happy and satisfied to see them. It tried to get the attention of the humans and guided them to the region were the hunters where. On finding the hunters, they got more men to get hold of the hunters. Thus, after a long gun fight, some hunters were killed and others were arrested.
“Finally we are at peace. We have our forest back,” proclaimed the owl. With great joy and a sense of peace, the home return journey began.
Ever since that day of exodus, Thimma was called by the greatest title of the forest, the fourth monkey. The Teacher monkey too was impressed. From that day onwards he began to teach the principle of the fourth monkey, “See, Hear, Speak and Act. In other words, know the evil, let other know it and finally act against it like the fourth monkey. ”
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