How The Monkey Became A Trickster [Fairy Tales From Brazil]
Once upon a time there was a beautiful garden in
which grew all sorts of fruits. Many beasts lived in the garden and they were
permitted to eat of the fruits whenever they wished. But they were asked to
observe one rule. They must make a low, polite bow to the fruit tree, call it
by its name, and say, "Please give me a taste of your fruit." They
had to be very careful to remember the tree's correct name and not to forget to
say "please." It was also very important that they should remember not to be greedy. They must always leave plenty of fruit
for the other beasts who might pass that way, and plenty to adorn the tree
itself and to furnish seed so that other trees might grow. If they wished to
eat figs they had to say, "O, fig tree, O, fig tree, please give me a
taste of your fruit;" or, if they wished to eat oranges they had to say,
"O, orange tree, O, orange tree, please give me a taste of your
fruit."