You know the story of
the Monkey, don't you?'--
'The Monkey drew the sawyer's wedge, and died:--
Let meddlers mark it, and be edified.'
'No!' said Damanaka. 'How was it?'
'In this way,' answered Karataka:--
THE STORY OF THE MONKEY AND THE WEDGE
"In South Behar, close by the retreat of Dhurmma, there was an open plot
of ground, upon which a temple was in course of erection, under the
management of a man of the Kayeth caste, named Subhadatta. A carpenter
upon the works had partly sawed through a long beam of wood, and wedged
it open, and was gone away, leaving the wedge fixed. Shortly afterwards
a large herd of monkeys came frolicking that way, and one of their
number, directed doubtless by the Angel of death, got astride the beam,
and grasped the wedge, with his tail and lower parts dangling down
between the pieces of the wood. Not content with this, in the mischief
natural to monkeys, he began to tug at the wedge; till at last it
yielded to a great effort and came out; when the wood closed upon him,
and jammed him all fast. So perished the monkey, miserably crushed; and
I say again--
'Let meddlers mark it, and be edified.
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