The king of the forest was a huge lion. No one could match his strength — and oh, how he showed off about it! Every day he'd roar — “Haloom! No one in this forest is stronger than me! Whoever's strongest, rules!” And all the animals would hide in fear.
Up on a branch sat a little monkey, watching it all. He called down with a grin — “Your Majesty, you've got plenty of strength. But without brains, all that strength is blind!” The lion blazed with anger — “What?! You, a tiny monkey, lecturing me? Come down this instant!”
The monkey didn't come down. He smiled a sly little smile — “One condition, Your Majesty. If you can catch me, I'm yours. But can you?” The lion burst out laughing — “Catch you? I'll have you in a single pounce! Where will you run?” And quietly, the monkey settled on his plan.
And the chase was on! The monkey leaped from branch to branch — the lion pounding after him. One leap… another leap… on and on they went! Smack into tree trunks, crash through bushes, scratch on the thorns — thud-thud, thud-thud! The monkey scampered ahead, looking back to call — “This way, Your Majesty, this way!”
At last the monkey settled on a branch above a muddy bog. “Catch me now, if you can!” In a rage the lion leaped with all his might — and right then the monkey darted aside! By his own great strength the lion flew straight into the bog — sploosh! Stuck fast in the mud, he couldn't budge.
Panting and panting, the lion bowed his head — “You were right, brother monkey. All that strength, and I couldn't even reach you!” But the monkey didn't laugh. He called all the animals. Together they dropped a vine and pulled and pulled the king out — heave-ho, heave-ho!
From that day on, the king was not the same. He dropped his swagger and became the monkey's friend. As the sun went down, the lion smiled and said to the monkey — “I see it now, brother — it's not brawn that wins, it's brains.” And all the forest nodded along.