On the banks of a wide river, there lived a clever monkey who made his home in a large jamun tree, its branches always heavy with sweet, juicy berries. Every day, he would eat his fill and toss a few extra berries down to the water below.
One day, a crocodile swimming nearby noticed the delicious berries floating past and tasted one. He found them so sweet that he began visiting the tree every single day, and soon he and the monkey became the closest of friends, chatting for hours by the riverbank.
One day, the crocodile carried some berries home to share with his wife. She found them incredibly sweet and thought to herself, "If the fruit this monkey eats every day is this sweet, imagine how sweet his heart must taste!" She began pestering her husband to bring her the monkey's heart to eat.
Though he loved his friend dearly, the crocodile felt torn and eventually gave in to his wife's demands. The next day, he invited the monkey to visit his home across the river, offering to carry him safely on his back.
Halfway across the deep water, the crocodile could no longer hide the truth and confessed his wife's terrible wish. The monkey's heart pounded with fear, but he stayed remarkably calm and quickly thought of a clever plan.
"Oh, what a shame you didn't tell me sooner, dear friend!" the monkey said smoothly. "I always leave my heart safely hanging on my tree before I travel - it's much too precious to carry around! We must go back so I can fetch it for your wife."
Believing every word, the trusting crocodile swam straight back to the jamun tree. The moment they reached the bank, the clever monkey scrambled up into the highest branches and refused to ever come down again.
"A true friend would never betray another for a meal," the monkey called down sadly. The crocodile swam away in shame, having learned that a friend's trust, once broken, is exceedingly difficult to ever earn back.