The Monkey Who Was a Chief's Advisor

A Shona chief had a pet Monkey who was incredibly intelligent. The monkey would sit with the chief in his court (dare) and listen to all the cases. One day, two men came to the chief, arguing over a single, beautiful cloth. Both claimed ownership. The chief could not decide between them. The Monkey, seeing this, chattered and pointed at the chief's knife and then at the cloth. The chief, understanding, took his knife and made a motion as if to cut the beautiful cloth in two. The first man shouted, "Yes! Cut it! If I cannot have it, neither can he!" The second man cried out, "No, Your Highness! Do not destroy it. Let him have the whole cloth rather than see it ruined." The chief immediately awarded the cloth to the second man. He knew that the true owner would rather see his property given away than destroyed. The Monkey had taught him a lesson in discerning the truth by testing the nature of the claimants.