Simla Village Tales; Or, Folk Tales from the Himalayas

Chapter 4: A MONKEY OBJECTS TO CRITICISM

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Mythology, Legends & Folklore Short Stories

About This Book

A collected set of Himalayan folk tales recorded from Simla district storytellers, offering short narratives that range from animal fables and origin myths to domestic legends, supernatural episodes, and comic anecdotes. Each tale conveys local worldview through clever animals, magical transformations, moral dilemmas, and temple or ritual lore, frequently resolving with ironic justice or unexpected reward. Arranged as concise, orally inflected stories, the collection preserves regional phrasing and communal concerns while mixing ghostly encounters, trickster adventures, romances, and practical wisdom. Select illustrations and brief editorial notes about the collecting process and translations provide framing for the assembled material.

A MONKEY OBJECTS TO CRITICISM

A monkey once sat on a tree, shivering with cold, as rain was falling, and a little bird sat in its nest on the same tree; and, as it sat, it looked at the monkey and wondered why a creature with hands and feet like a man should shiver in the cold, while a small bird rested in comfort.

At last it expressed its thought to the monkey, who replied: “I have not strength to build myself a house, but I have strength to destroy yours,” and with that he pulled to pieces the poor little bird’s nest, and turned it out with its young.