"Oh," sobbed the Queen, ' there is only one thing that will cure me
of my illness!" "What is that?" inquired Rin-Jin. " If I eat the liver
of a live monkey I shall immediately recover. Pray get me a monkey's liver,
for I know that nothing else will save my life."
So Rin-Jin called a jelly-fish to his side, and said: " I want you to
swim to the land and return with a live monkey on your back, for I need
to use his liver so that our Queen may be restored to health again. You
are the only creature who can perform this task, for you alone have legs
and are able to walk about on shore. In order to induce the monkey to come,
you must tell him of the wonders of the deep and of the rare beauties of
my great coral palace, with its floor of pearl and its walls of coral."
The jelly-fish, delighted to think that the health and happiness of
his mistress depended upon the success of his enterprise, lost no time
in swimming to an island. He had no sooner stepped ashore than he observed
a fine looking monkey playing about in the branches of a pine tree.
"Hello!" said the jelly-fish, " I don't think much of this island. What
a dull and miserable life you must lead here! I come from the Kingdom of
the Sea, where Rin-Jin reigns in a palace of great size and beauty. It
may be that you would like to see a new country where there is plenty of
fruit and where the weather is always fine. If so, get on my back, and
I shall have much pleasure in taking you to the Kingdom of the Sea."
"I shall be delighted to accept your invitation," said the monkey, as he got down from the tree and comfortably seated himself on the thick shell of the jelly-fish.
"By the way," said the jelly-fish, when he accomplished about half of the return journey."I suppose you have brought your liver with you, haven;t you?"
"What a personal question!" replied the monkey. "Why do you ask?"
"Our Queen of the Sea is dangerously ill," said the foolish jelly-fish,"
and only the liver of a live monkey will save her life. When we reach the
palace a doctor will make use of your liver and my mistress will be restored
to health again."
" Dear me!" exclaimed the monkey, " I wish you had mentioned this matter
to me before we left the island."
"If I had done so, " replied the jelly-fish, " you would most certainly
have refused my invitation."
"Believe me, you are quite mistaken, my dear jelly-fish. I have several
livers hanging up on a pine tree, and I would gladly have spared one in
order to save the life of your Queen. If you will bring me back to the
island again I will get it. It was most unfortunate that I should have
forgotten to bring a liver with me."
So the credulous jelly-fish turned round and swam back to the island.
Directly the jelly-fish reached the shore the monkey sprang from his back
and danced about the branches of a tree.
"Liver," said the monkey chuckling,"did you say liver? You silly jelly-fish,
you'll certainly never get mine!"
The jelly fish at length reached the palace, and told Rin-Jin his dismal
tale. The Sea King fell into a great passion. "Beat him to a jelly! " he
cried to those about him. "Beat this stupid fellow 'till he hasn't a bone
left in his body!"
So the jelly-fish lost his shell from that unfortunate hour, and all
the jelly-fishes that were born in the sea after his death were also without
shells, and have remained nothing but jelly to this day.
This page is especially dedicated to Mei Kwai Liang who taught me the importance of calm, poise, and balance.