The Trap
Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
by Swapna Nanda
Deep inside the jungle, in the Jungle Doctors cabin sat a group of people huddled around the fire. This was their usual routine in the evenings to sit and listen to stories form Doctor David. Doctor David had come to stay in the African jungle for treating patients. Ever since then, people have liked him and accepted him.
David started his story:
Then Peru put some sand and stones and on the top he put some groundnuts in the tin. It gave an impression that the tin was filled with groundnuts. So Peru took the tin and kept it under a tree in the jungle and went into hiding in the nearby thicket from where he could have a clear view.
After a while, a group of monkeys arrived in the scene. They were attracted by the smell of groundnuts. Monkeys have a weakness for groundnuts. It was hard to resist. Who could have left the tin of groundnuts? They were talking among themselves. The older monkeys were contemplating about the next action when a young monkey named Toto came near the tin. The smell of groundnuts was to mesmerizing. He was already salivating. The groundnuts were having the better of him, which stopped him from thinking twice. He peeped into the tin and without having a second thought, Toto plunged his hand into the tin. Wow! As soon as he reached into the nuts, he could not bear his joy. He grasped a handful of groundnuts. The next thing was to eat the nuts. All the groundnuts were his. Yum yum yummy..
Hey! Wait a minute. His hand was not coming out! Toto tried to pull out his hand but to his great surprise his hand was stuck inside. Due to the groundnuts his fist was too big to come out of the hole. Toto screamed. All the monkeys gathered around him and tried to give him suggestions for escape. Toto tried his best to take out his hand but in vain. His hand full of nuts was stuck inside.
Watching form behind the bush Peru was congratulating himself for his trick. The hole was exactly made. Now he can advance and capture his catch.
The Giraffe spoke from the thorn bush urgently spoke to Toto "Leave the nuts Toto, then you can bring out your hand"
But Toto was not ready to let go of the nuts. He firmly held on to the nuts and wanted to pull out his hand.
Giraffe spoke again, "Toto let go of the nuts. It is a trap laid out by the hunter. Leave the nuts."
Toto turned a deaf ear to the Giraffe.
Slowly Peru came out of his hiding and walked towards Toto. All the other monkeys fled for their lives above the nearby trees. Toto was still holding onto the nuts. He was afraid to see the hunter striding towards him. He screamed and tried to drag the tin alongside him. Peru raised his staff and hit the monkey. Toto was too shocked form the blow. He fell back unconscious. His grip loosened inside the tin and his hand was free. But it was too late. Peru quickly picked up the monkey and put him in a sack.
There was complete silence inside the cabin as every body was contemplating the misfortune of the monkey.
David said again, the name of this trap is Sin. The bible says that Sin tries to enslave us through its allurement. Like the groundnuts, there are many things in this world, which attract us and make us its slave. Perhaps we do not heed to others suggestions or advice for a clean and sinless life and walk according to our own wisdom like the foolish monkey. Then we arrive in a situation when it is too late for escape.
We should not let ourselves to be trapped by any means.
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More commentsSwapna, what gain the entire world but lose ones soul? Good job.Thank you sir for reading and commenting. Swapna
That was amazing! At first i thought it was really cruel to set the trap but it makes a lot more sense when you get to the end. Well done...Thank you for reading and commenting. Swapna
Wonderful article, Swapna. Such a great way to teach a spiritual truth.Blessings.SandraThank you for your comments. Swapna
Excellent story Swampna! My husband has used this same illustration in some of his sermons. We all need to be wise and not serve our sins, but instead we need to serve our Lord Jesus. Keep up the excellent work.Blessings and love,Michelle MackinThank you for reading and commenting. I am encouraged. Swapna
Swapna, your gift is shinning through. Truth thru tale. I love it! Blessings to you.Thanx Teresa for your encouraginf words. it makes me feel like working harder. God bless you too. Swapna
Swapna,This is a great write! Beautifully written and formatted.Thank you Ronyae. I was missing you. Were you away? Swapna
You are becoming a favorite on this site and I do believe someone higher is directing you. You have an excellent style, gentle and informative.Oh Thank you Mr. Robert for taking time to read and it is a great encouragement to read your compliment. Yes, I agree with you. It is my humble desire to be shaped and handled by the Greater Spirit till the end.You are a greater author too. I am humbled by your comments. with regards, SwapnaRobert do you know she is my colleague. I am feeling proud of her because of your comment for her article/story. She is an excellent writer and story teller. She publishes a childrens' magazine also. And yes! Mrs. Swapna Nanda, I truly appreciate your story telling capability which is driven by the Almighty as you said. God Bless you...Thank you Chiradeep for Introducing me to people in Searchwarp. :) and also rating my story. I should tell every one that you nagged me to get into searchwarp. and you did good. Now I am enjoying here. Thanks.
I didnt rate your story...I will do it now - FIVE
Why would it be a sin for a monkey to follow its nature and eat food that it finds? Isn't this what all foragers do? I don't quite get why "sin" is involved. This could just as well be a parable of a man courting a woman for marriage: Don't get trapped!Dear Annonymous friend. I am glad that you commented to this story. You are wellcome friend. I would certainly like to respond to your observation about the nature of the monkey. Yes as you say, it is but natural to be tempted for groundnuts. But I am sure will agree that our natural instints too lead us to disasters. Initially, God created us in His image with clean and pure and holy nature and attitudes but becasue of disobedience we have all inherited a "fallen nature" (You may noy agree), other wise why there is hatred, jealousy, murder and all shorts of things which is shameful and taking our world towards moral degradation? Therefore, we cannot deny "sin" and make an excuse that all our actions and attitudes are "Natural".Thank you once again for reading and commenting. best regards, Swapna
Yes, I have heard of this hunting method.
You tell the story very well, and enlightened me with your ending commentary. I will be thinking about sins with more caution in the future.Thank you for your comments. I am glad that you liked the story. Yes Sin is indeed dangerous and needs to be attended to or else it spreads like a cancer.
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