Tsuro and the Baboon's Children

Tsuro the Hare and a Baboon were neighbors. One day they agreed to help each other by watching the other's children. First, the Baboon watched Tsuro's baby hares. He was gentle and kind, and when Tsuro returned, his children were safe and happy. The next day, it was Tsuro's turn to watch the baby baboons. But Tsuro was cruel and mischievous. He taught the baby baboons a "game." He would throw them high into the air, but he would not catch them. The baby baboons were all badly injured. When the mother Baboon returned and saw her weeping, bruised children, she was filled with rage. She chased Tsuro, who hid in a log. The mother Baboon started a fire to smoke him out, but Tsuro had a second escape hole and got away. He had repaid kindness with cruelty and escaped justice. The story is a dark one, often told to show that the trickster is not always a hero. Sometimes, Tsuro's actions are purely selfish and malicious, a warning that cleverness without morality is a dangerous and destructive force.