A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

The Man and the Monkeys ends with an unnamed monkey god who watches over monkeys, good and bad. A traveler has entered a luxuriant garden, fallen into a lake and been rescued by a monkey. Although the rescue requires the monkey to train its strength by lifting increasingly heavy stones, the grateful relationship is short-lived: the man decides that the monkeys disturb his sleep and kills them by shaking them from their trees.

Knowing this ingratitude, the guardian turns himself into a great snake and meets the departing man on the path. He swallows the killer, ending the tale; no release or return to his former shape follows. The narrator gives neither a personal name nor a description of the guardian’s original body. In particular, the text does not identify him with Hanuman or another named monkey deity. Its opening calls the garden Eden, a term retained as evidence of the English collection’s framing rather than proof of a shared Tibetan sacred geography.

Protects monkeysActual snake transformationSwallows an ungrateful killer
01

Origins & earliest records

Supernatural guardian in a mediated Tibetan tale collection

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale including its final punishment directly read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Tibetan Folk Tales

    A. L. Shelton; edited by Flora Beal Shelton · 1925

    XXXIX, The Man and the Monkeys, pp.155–158; closing illustration follows narrative

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

A. L. Shelton, Tibetan Folk Tales (1925)

XXXIX. The Man and the Monkeys, pp.155–158

Complete narrative and ending read. Guardian distinct from exercising rescuer, turns himself into snake and swallows murderer; no proper-name identification; Eden is English framing.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical English tale collectionShelton, The Man and the Monkeys, XXXIXResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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