The Monkey and the Old Crocodile

In the old days there was a river, and one riverbank had a lot of trees with no fruit.  The other riverbank had a lot of trees with fruit, and the smell of fruit flew everywhere.  On the north side of the riverbank, the monkey wished that he could be on the west side of the riverbank.  The monkey didn't know how to get across to the other side of the river.  In the middle of the river there were a lot of crocodiles.  The monkey sat down, thought and thought, and finally got the answer.
  The monkey walked close to the river, and asked the old crocodile, "Old crocodile, could you give me a ride on your back to the other side of the river?"  The old crocodile said, "OK! but if I take you to the other side of the river, you must give me your heart."  The monkey answered, "I would agree, but the red heart is not with me.  The red heart is on the other side of the river; I hung it on top of the tree."
   The old crocodile thought and thought and then said, "If I took you to the other side of the river, then you would climb up into that tree and bring down the red heart to me."  The monkey agreed, "But you must wait until I get on top of the tree."  The old crocodile agreed, and the monkey climbed on top of the old crocodile's back.  The old crocodile swam slowly, slowly to the other side of the riverbank.  When the old crocodile reached the bank, immediately the monkey jumped off his back, and climbed into the tree.  The monkey was very happy and sat on top of the tree eating fruits.  The old crocodile waited and waited, and then said, "Bring down the red heart to me as you had agreed."  The monkey answered, "If you want my red heart, then you come up here and get it."

1985