Fable · 声匠改编 · 3:47
The Monkeys Who Fished for the Moon
Little Monkey sees the moon in the well, so the monkeys hang down in a long chain to fish it out. It breaks and comes back, until Grandpa Monkey looks up.
Narrator
Little Monkey
Little Flower
Big Monkey
Grandpa MonkeyOther languages · 2 languages
About this story
The Monkeys Who Fished for the Moon retells 猴子捞月 (hóu zi lāo yuè), literally 'monkeys scoop up the moon', one of China's best-loved folk tales: a band of monkeys think the moon has fallen into a well and hang down in a long chain to fish it out, only to find they have been grabbing at its reflection. An early version appears in the Mahasanghika Vinaya, a Buddhist book of monastic rules translated into Chinese in the early fifth century, during the Eastern Jin dynasty; there the branch snaps and the monkeys all tumble into the well. This version keeps the gentle ending children know today, and gives Little Monkey, Little Flower, Big Monkey and Grandpa Monkey voices of their own.
What it teaches
Look carefully and think before you act, and don't just rush after what everyone else is doing. If you mistake a reflection for the real thing, all your hard work comes to nothing.
Suits
Ages 3–7
Tips for telling it
- Before the story, set a bowl of water under a lamp, or out under the real moon, so your child can see a reflection for themselves.
- Slow down when the moon breaks and comes back, and let your child guess: will the monkeys ever catch it?
- End with the Chinese saying 猴子捞月，一场空 (hóu zi lāo yuè, yì chǎng kōng), 'monkeys fishing for the moon: all for nothing', which means working hard for something that was never there.
Questions people ask
- What is the moral of The Monkeys Who Fished for the Moon?
- Look carefully before you act, don't be fooled by appearances, and don't just follow the crowd. The monkeys took the moon's reflection for the real moon and worked all night for nothing.
- What does 猴子捞月 mean?
- 猴子捞月 (hóu zi lāo yuè) means 'monkeys scoop up the moon.' It is also the first half of a two-part Chinese saying, 猴子捞月，一场空, 'monkeys fishing for the moon: all for nothing', used for effort wasted on something that isn't real.
- Where does the story of the monkeys and the moon come from?
- It is a Chinese folk tale. An early written version is in the Mahasanghika Vinaya, a Buddhist text translated into Chinese during the Eastern Jin dynasty, in which the monkeys' branch breaks and they fall into the well; the happier ending is the one told to children today.
- What age is The Monkeys Who Fished for the Moon for?
- About ages 3 to 7. It is short, full of characters and easy to picture, and it doubles as a first lesson about reflections in water, which makes it a good bedtime story.
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