Once again they were together.

After prayers, they sat down around the ‘dasterkhan’ to share the food everyone had brought for themself plus two. There were a variety of dishes and it was more than enough for everybody.

“People, who pray together and eat togather, stay together.” someone said.

“Wah, wah kia pate ki baat kahi mare yaar ne” (what my friend just said is so true) someone agreed.

Many nodded their heads.

A few minutes passed in silence; then someone asked the person sitting next to him. “How is your business doing?”

There was no response for a while. then he gave a little chuckle and said, “First you will listen to the story I am going to tell, after that we will talk about my business.”

“OK, lets hear it then.”

So the story began…

“Once upon a time there was a monkey who wanted to marry a cat. One day he decided to propose to her. She listened to him nicely but said that she would only agree if he promised to protect her children from the hungry lion who, every time she has babies, comes and eats them. The monkey promptly promised to protect her and her babies from the hungry lion.

They got married.

The cat once again had the babies but she was not worried because the monkey had promised to protect her and the babies. But when the lion came to eat them, the monkey climbed a tree and as the lion ate the kittens, the monkey kept coming down the tree then going up again. And as he was doing this up and down, up and down, the lion finished off all the babies and left.

The cat was heartbroken. She asked the monkey why didn’t he keep his promise, why did he not save her poor babies…

The monkey said didn’t she see him running up and down, hither and tither, up and down… so much running around he did to save them, but still nothing happened; the lion ate them all!

There was silence – thoughts were flying around – minds were at work.

The next day someone emailed the story to the higher up.

“Cat be neutered,” came the reply.