The Jellyfish Journey
Once upon a time, the king of the dragons was an old bachelor took it into his head to get
married. His bride was a young dragonette just sixteen years old lovely enough to become the wife
of any king. The wedding caused much rejoicing. The fishes, both great and small, came to offer
gifts to the newly-wedded pair. For many days there was feasting and merriment.
But alas, even dragons have their trails. Before a month has passed the young dragon
queen fell ill. The doctors gave her every medicine that was known to dragons, but none helped
her. At last, they said that there were nothing more to be done. She would probably die. But the
sick queen said to her husband, “I know of something that will cure me. Get me a live monkey’s
liver and I shall get well at once.”
“A live monkey’s liver!” exclaimed the king. “What are you thinking of, my dear? You
forgot that we dragons live in the sea, while monkeys live on land far away among the forest
trees. A monkey’s liver! My darling, you must be mad.”
The young queen burst into tears, “I have asked you for only one small thing,” she
whispered, “and you won’t get it for me. I wish I had stayed at home with my own m-m-m-mama
and my own papa-a-a-a.”
The dragon king did not like to have it thought that he was unkind to his beautiful young
wife. So, he sent for his trusty servant, the jellyfish, and said: “I have a rather difficult task for you.
I want you to swim across the land and persuade a live monkey to come here with you. Tell the
monkey how much nicer everything is here on dragon land than where he lives, so that he will be
willing to come. What I really want him for is to cut out his liver to use as a medicine for the
queen. “
So the jellyfish started off on his strange errand. In those days, he was just like any other
fish, with eyes and fins and a tail. But he had little feet also, so that he could walk on land. It did
not take him many hours he swim across the country where the monkeys live. Fortunately, there
happened to be a monkey jumping among the branches of the trees near the place where the
jellyfish landed.
“Good morning, Mr. Monkey, “said jellyfish. “I have come to tell about the beautiful
country where the weather is always pleasant. There are plenty of ripe fruits on the trees, and
there none of those mischievous creatures called men. Will you now get on my back and let me
take you there?”
The monkey thought that it would be fun to see a new country. So he jumped on the
jellyfish back, and off they started across the water. When they had gone about halfway, he began
to fear that there might be some hidden danger. It seemed rather odd for a jellyfish to come so far
to carry a stranger for simply to see the country.
“My Jellyfish, why did you think of coming for me?”
“My master, the king of the dragons, set me to get you,” answered the jellyfish. “He wants
to give your liver as medicine to the queen.”
“Oh, that’s your little game, is it?” thought the monkey. But he kept his thoughts to
himself, and only said, “Nothing could please me better than to be service to the king and queen.
But I left my liver hanging on a branch of a big tree where you first saw me. A liver is heavy to
carry about so I generally take mine out and play about without it. We shall have to go back for
it.”
The jellyfish agreed that there was nothing else to do. The silly creatures did not see that
the monkey was only fooling him in order to save his life and his liver.
When they reach the shore again, the monkey bounded off the jellyfish’s back and was up
the tree in less than a minute. Then he said: “I do not see my liver here. Perhaps somebody has
taken it away. I will look for it go back and tell your master what has happened. He may become
very anxious if you did not get home before dark.”
So the jellyfish started home. When he told the king of the dragons what happened, the
king was so angry and said: “Away with this fellow. Take him and a beat him to a pulp. Do not let a
single bone remain unbroken in his body.”
The officer seizes the unfortunate jellyfish and beat him as the king had commanded. That
is the reason why, to this very day, the jellyfish have no bones.
When the young queen found, she could not have the monkey’s liver, she made up her
mind to get well without it.
