Chapter 18
It was an old custom among sailors to carry Maltese lap dogs or monkeys to amuse themselves on voyages. So, once while a man had a monkey with him as a companion during a voyage, the ship got caught in a violent storm off the coast of Sunium, the famous peninsula of Attica. After it was capsized, all on board were thrown into the water and had to swim for land as best they could. A dolphin saw the monkey struggling, and thinking that he was a man, whom dolphins are said to befriend, he went to help him and carried him on his back straight for the shore. When they were just opposite Piraeus, the harbor of Athens, the dolphin asked the monkey if he were an Athenian.
“Yes,” answered the monkey. “Certainly. I’m from one of the first families in the place.”
“Then, of course, you know Piraeus,” said the dolphin.
“Oh, yes,” replied the monkey, who thought it was the name of some distinguished citizen. “He is one of my most intimate friends.”
Infuriated by such a gross lie, the dolphin dived to the bottom of the water and left the lying monkey to his fate.
One lie will lead to another, and ultimately seal one’s doom.
