With a mighty spring he grasped a creeper which was hanging above him , and landed himself on the branch of a tree ; feeling the breath of the puma on his feet as the animal bounded from is cover . Never had the monkey been so near death , and it was some time before he recovered enough courage to venture on the ground again . Up there in the shelter of the trees , he began to turn over in his head plans for escaping the snares of the puma . And at length chance helped him . Peeping down to the earth , he saw a man coming along the path carrying on his head a large gourd filled with honey . He waited till the man was just underneath the tree , then he hung from a bough , and caught the gourd while the man looked up wondering , for he was no tree-climber . Then the monkey rubbed the honey all over him , and a quantity of leaves from a creeper that was hanging close by ; he stuck them all close together into the honey , so that he looked like a walking bush . This finished , he ran to the pool to see the result , and , quite pleased with himself , set out in search of adventures . Soon the report went through the forest that a new animal had appeared from no one knew where , and that when somebody had asked his name , the strange creature had answered that it was Jack-in-the-Green . Thanks to this , the monkey was allowed to drink at the pool as often as he liked , for neither beast nor bird had the faintest notion who he was . And if they made any inquiries the only answer they got was that the water of which he had drunk deeply had turned his hair into leaves , so that they all knew what would happen in case they became too greedy . By-and-by the great rains began again . The rivers and streams filled up , and there was no need for him to go back to the pool , near the home of his enemy , the puma , as there was a large number of places for him to choose from . So one night , when everything was still and silent , and even the chattering parrots were asleep on one leg , the monkey stole down softly from his perch , and washed off the honey and the leaves , and came out from his bath in his own proper skin . On his way to breakfast he met a rabbit , and stopped for a little talk . ' I am feeling rather dull , ' he remarked ; ' I think it would do me good to hunt a while . What do you say ? ' ` Oh , I am quite willing , ' answered the rabbit , proud of being spoken to by such a large creature . ` But the question is , what shall we hunt ? ' ` There is no credit in going after an elephant or a tiger , ' replied the monkey stroking his chin , ` they are so big they could not possibly get out of your way .
It shows much more skill XXXXX be able to catch a small thing that can hide itself in a moment behind a leaf .
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