The Giant and The Monkey - A Story on Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Do you know what proverbs are? Well, proverbs are sayings that present truth or a piece of advice through examples from our daily lives. Proverbs impart wisdom and morals. They teach us what is right and wrong and how we should act wisely. Today, we are going to learn a proverb through an interesting story. The proverb goes ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. This means that we shouldn’t analyse or conclude about a person by their outward appearance. To understand the meaning of the proverb better, let’s read the story.

The Giant and The Monkey Story

Thomas was a kind and sweet giant who lived alone in a hut near the forest. He loved eating apples and had run out of his stock. Thomas decided to visit the forest and pluck some apples from the apple trees. He picked up his fruit basket, wore his hat and set out for the forest. Thomas was very happy and was humming a song while walking through the forest.

On his way, Thomas met Mr Monkey. When Mr Monkey looked at Thomas, he assumed that Thomas was a scary, aggressive giant and would eat him up. Mr Monkey screamed very loudly. His scream was so loud that the birds sitting on the trees flew away in fear. Thomas was startled by Mr Monkey’s scream and dropped his basket. 

Mr Monkey shouted, “Please don’t eat me, monster.” Thomas felt very sad and replied, “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to scare you. I won’t eat you. I love apples and I have come to the forest to only pluck some apples.” With these words, Thomas picked up his basket and walked away. He was very hurt and upset. 

Mr Monkey Screams at Thomas

After plucking the apples when Thomas walked towards home, he heard someone scream for help. Thomas ran in the direction of the scream and saw that Mr Monkey had fallen into a large hole and was unable to climb up. Thomas said, “Sir, is it okay if I help you climb up?” Mr Monkey was desperate to come out of the hole and so he agreed. Thomas lied down and extended his hand. Mr Monkey held his hand and Thomas pulled him out of the hole.

Mr Monkey realised that he was wrong about Thomas and that he shouldn’t have been rude to him. “I’m very sorry for my behaviour earlier. You are a very kind and helpful giant. Please will you forgive me?” said Mr Monkey. Thomas being his sweet and generous self, forgave Mr Monkey and shared some of his apples with Mr Monkey. From that day onwards, Thomas and Mr Monkey became friends. 

Thomas Shares Apples with Mr Monkey

Conclusion

In this story, Mr Monkey had judged Thomas as a scary and aggressive monster who would eat him. However, he was wrong because as we can see, Thomas was a helpful and kind giant. He helped Mr Monkey when he was in need of help. Thus, this moral story teaches us the true meaning of ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. We should always know a person well enough before concluding about their nature.