Baboon and the Raven

When one visits a zoo today, there is one intriguing creature that must be seen. This interesting creature is the baboon, surrounded by many speculations and rumors. Many have tried to guess of how the baboon obtained its bare and bright red behind. Now there is an ancient Greek myth that explains this entire phenomenon of the baboon’s rear end. Quite simply, these are the true events of what happened to Baboon that day.

Baboon was scouting the forest floor one day, searching for food. All the tiny insects and creatures had heard and seen Baboon, and were hiding from him. Irritated, Baboon stopped by a river, for his hunting had made him thirsty. He kneeled down by the bank, and plunged his head into the water. He gulped quickly, quenching his thirst immediately. After combing and washing himself, he stood up, ready to return to hunting. However, he caught a glint of yellow out of the corner of his eye, and stopped. Looking closer into the river, he could see a huge nugget of gold, submerged in the shallow waters of the bank. I must be dreaming, Baboon thought to himself. But just to be sure, he dipped his hand into the water and seized the golden nugget. Then he pulled with all his might, and the nugget came free.

The gold sat in his hand, heavy and real, and Baboon screamed with joy. He scampered up trees, and swung from branch to branch, expressing his great delight. Now Raven, who was a spiteful and jealous creature, sat from his perch high up in a tree, watching Baboon racing up and down, carrying that golden nugget. The more Raven watched, the more jealous he became, until he could stand it no longer. “I must have that nugget,” Raven muttered to himself, and luckily for him, he didn’t have to wait very long. Pretty soon, all that swinging and scampering tired Baboon, and so he sat down under a nice big oak and soon fell fast asleep. Raven had been watching Baboon all this time with his beady little eyes, and now he took advantage of this moment. Swooping down gracefully, he plucked the nugget from Baboon’s lap and began to fly off. However, he had miscalculated the weight of the nugget. Indeed, the gold nugget was so heavy, and Raven’s frame so small, that eventually Raven had to drop the nugget or else be dragged down with it. The nugget landed profoundly, dropping like a great stone, and the thud woke Baboon from his slumber.