Who else wants to read this story named The Secret Mango Grove?

A stream flowed in the center of a thick forest. On its bank was a mango orchard. The mangoes of the orchard were of golden color and tasted extraordinarily sweet. Some monkeys lived in the orchard. The king of the monkeys was very kind and gentle. He cared for his subjects and loved them as his own children. The grove had not been discovered by human beings as yet.

The monkey king had asked his subjects to beware of any human being. “If you sight any human being coming, you must immediately report the matter to me. We should not let the human beings discover this grove. Otherwise, they will take all the mangoes and nothing will be left for us”. He said to them. The monkeys were always alert about the human beings.

One day, a monkey was sitting on a branch of a mango tree and enjoying ripe golden mangoes. By mistake, he dropped a mango into the stream. The mango floated on the water and reached the other side of the stream. The royal washer man was washing clothes. He found the mango. It appeared to be very juicy and sweet. He decided to gift the mango to the king.

So, he took the mango to the king. “Your majesty, I have found this rope golden mango on the bank of a stream in the forest. I thought you will like to see such an extraordinary mango. So, I have brought it to you. The king thanked the washer man an date the mango. It was the sweetest mango he had ever tested. He wanted to have such mangoes. He thought, “The washer man found it floating on the waters of a stream. Surely, it must have floated from the other bank of the stream. There must be a mango tree on that side of the stream. So he decided to find out the source of the mango. He took some soldiers with him and rode a boat to the other side of the stream.

From the boat, they could see the mango-laden trees. The king was very happy. Now he could enjoy the mangoes.

Meanwhile, some monkeys saw the men coming that way. They ran to their king and informed him that some men were coming toward the orchard in boats. The boats were so near that nothing could be done.

The monkey king was more concerned about the safety of his subjects. “We must get out of the orchard”. He thought. He caught hold of a long vine and swung on it to the other side of the stream. Then he came back and asked all the monkeys to swing on the vine and reach the other bank of the stream. He told them that he would follow them when he had saved all the monkeys.

He helped the old and baby monkeys to swing to the other side. When he was sure that all the monkeys had reached the other bank safely, he got ready to swing to the other side. All his subjects were waiting for him on the other bank of the stream. But the vine was now too weak to bear the weight of the king monkey. It broke and the monkey king fell into the stream. Seeing him falling into the stream, all his subjects began to cry for help.

The king was watching all this. He was impressed by the way, the monkey king had sent all his subjects to a place of safety. He appreciated his sense of duty and responsibility. Seeing him falling into water, he ordered his soldiers to rescue the king monkey.

At once, the soldiers jumped into the stream, rescued the monkey king, and took him to their king. The welcomed the monkey king and said, “I am much impressed by what you did to protect your subjects. They are now all safe on the other side. You are very tired. I invite you to my palace to spend a few days with me”.

The monkey king thanked him for his kind invitation, but refused to go with him. “My place is with my subjects. I have to stay with them”. He said. The king said, “You are really a great king. You know very well the responsibilities of a king towards his subjects. I am also a king and I cannot harm you or your subjects. I had come here to get the golden mangoes.

However, now I shall not touch these mangoes. This orchard is your kingdom. I cannot cause any harm to it. Please continue living here with your subjects”.

The monkey king said, “thank you so much for sparing my kingdom and saving my life. I cannot let a friend go away without gift. Please accept some of these juicy mangoes and take them with you to your palace. Every year, I will send some of these sweet mangoes to your palace. It will keep our friendship intact”.

The king accepted some mangoes and returned to his palace. The monkeys kept on living in the orchard. Now they had no fear of the man.