2018년 1월 6일, 국제포교사회 주관으로  자타카 암송대회를 했던 초등학교 5~중학교 3학년용 대본 및 녹음 파일 입니다. 법회에 이용해 보시길 바라는 마음에 올립니다.

How the Monkey saved his troop

무리를 구한 원숭이 대장

Once upon a time, a mango-tree grew on the bank of a great river. The fruit fell from some of the branches of this tree into the river, and from other branches it fell on the ground. Every night a troop of monkeys gathered the fruit that lay on the ground and climbed up into the tree to get the mangoes, which were like large, juicy peaches.

One day the king of the country stood on the bank of this same river, but many miles below where the mango-tree grew. The king was watching the fishermen with their nets. As they drew in their nets, the fishermen found not only fishes but a strange fruit. They went to the king with the strange fruit. "What is this?" asked the king. "We do not know, King," they said.

So they called the foresters and they said that it was a mango.

The king cut the mango and giving some to the princes, he ate some of it himself. He liked it very much, and they all liked it. Then the king said to the foresters, "Where does the mango-tree grow?" The foresters told him that it grew on the river bank many miles

farther up the river.

So he had many rafts joined together, and they went up the river until they came to the place where the mango-tree grew.

The king and all the men with him gathered the mangoes that lay on the ground under the tree. They all liked them so much and stayed all night to gather more fruit. So they had their supper under the trees, and then lay down to sleep.

When all was quiet, the Chief of the monkeys came with his troop. All the mangoes on the ground had been eaten, so the monkeys jumped from branch to branch, picking and eating mangoes, and chattering to one another. They made so much noise that they woke up the king. He called his archers saying, "Stand under the mango-tree and shoot the monkeys as they come down to the ground to get away. Then we shall have monkey's flesh in the morning as well as mangoes to eat."

The monkeys saw the archers standing around with their arrows ready to shoot. Fearing death, the Monkeys ran to their Chief, saying, "Oh Chief, the archers stand around the tree ready to shoot us! What shall we do?" They shook with fear.

The Chief said, "Do not fear. I will save you. Stay where you are

until I call you." The monkeys were comforted, for he had always helped them whenever they had needed help.

Then the Chief of the monkeys ran out on the branch of the mango-tree that hung out over the river. The long branches of the tree across the river did not quite meet the branch he stood on. The Chief said to himself, "If the monkeys try to jump across from this tree to that, some of them will fall into the water and drown. I must save them, but how can I do that? Umm, I know what I shall do. I shall make a bridge of my back."

So the Chief monkey reached across and took hold of the longest branch of the tree across the river. He called, "Come monkeys, run out on this branch, step on my back, and then run along the branch of the other tree." The monkeys did as the Chief told them to do. They swung themselves down to the ground, and away they went back to their home.

The king saw all that was done by the Chief and his troop. "That big monkey," said the king to the archers, "Save the whole troop. I will promise that he is taken care of the rest of his life."

And the king kept his promise.