There was a group of monkeys living in the forest, loving each other, playing, and enjoying happiness. Among them was a small monkey named Maimoun. Maimoun was very skilled at climbing high trees. He would jump from tree to another with great speed. His monkey friends would praise him for his skill and lightness.
Maimoun the monkey was very happy with their love for him. One day, the monkeys sat talking as usual, and suddenly the hoopoe came and landed on the tree branch next to the monkey Maimoun. They all welcomed him, looked at him with curiosity appearing, as he told them about the wonders he had seen. He described to them a large place surrounded by high walls where animals lived, and humans served them, fed them, and guarded them.
Maimoun the monkey was listening, his eyes wandering and thinking, saying: If only I could go to this comfortable place to eat and drink without fatigue. The next day, the leader of the monkeys noticed Maimoun’s absence and knew what was going through his mind. He said to him: My son, you won’t live happy except in your homeland among your family and friends. Whoever lives in a land other than his homeland lives as a stranger. But the monkey Maimoun wasn’t convinced by the leader of the monkeys’ words.
So Maimoun the monkey decided to go search for the place that the hoopoe was describing so he could eat and drink there without fatigue. Maimoun kept jumping from tree to tree, and didn’t listen to the call of his friends who warned him to stay away from them. The hoopoe flew away quickly, and the monkey Maimoun followed. Maimoun kept jumping from tree to another with great speed until he felt fatigue and hunger. He sat on one of the branches to rest. Maimoun looked below him and found some bananas thrown on the ground.
He jumped quickly to take the bananas, but those bananas were actually a trap set by a hunter. Maimoun fell into the hunter’s trap made of thick ropes. Maimoun started trying to get out of the nets but couldn’t. He remained in the trap until the hunter came, took him to a far place, and put the monkey Maimoun in an iron cage beside many animals imprisoned in cages. The hoopoe went to inform the leader of the monkeys about what happened to the monkey Maimoun. The leader of the monkeys was sad about what happened to the monkey Maimoun and asked the hoopoe to visit him and not leave him alone. The hoopoe returned to the cage of the monkey Maimoun and found him imprisoned, sad, with children throwing bananas and peanuts at him.
The hoopoe approached him, regretful and saying: I wish I had given the advice of the leader of the monkeys and hadn’t left my home.