The King received news one day that a group of outlaws were committing outrages on a distant border of the kingdom. The news angered the King. He quickly gathered his army and started off for the distant border, leaving his kingdom unguarded and without a ruler.
On their long march, the King and his army made camp for the night wherever they could. One rainy day they stopped in a forest, seeking shelter under the trees. They unsaddled their horses and steamed some peas, which they fed to their steeds in long narrow troughs .
A monkey in a tree nearby saw the horses being fed, and he came racing down, filled both paws with peas, then scampered nimbly up to a branch and settled down to eat. But as he opened one paw, a single pea fell to the ground. Without hesitation, the monkey jumped down from his perch to hunt for the lost pea, and in doing so he dropped all the other peas in his paws.
The King observed this foolish monkey and was greatly amused. He turned to his counselor and asked: “Friend, what do you think of this monkey who would give up so much to retrieve so little?”
“That is the way of the foolish,” replied the counselor, “they will give up much that is certain for a little that is uncertain.”
Then he added, “And we, great monarch, are we not like the monkey in the tree? To gain so little we neglect so much — exactly like the monkey with its pea.”
The King understood the rebuke and realized how very foolish he had been himself to leave his kingdom unguarded. He issued orders to his men, and he and his army returned at once to their country.
有一天，国王收到消息称一群歹徒正在偏远的国境线上实施暴行。国王大为恼怒，迅速集合军队向遥远的边境开拔，留下整个王国无人守卫，也无人统领。
行进的一路上，国王和军队每到夜晚就找地方安营扎寨。一个雨天，他们在森林里停下脚步，到树下避雨。他们卸下马鞍，蒸了些豆子倒进狭长的食槽里喂马。
附近一棵树上有只猴子看见人们在喂马，就蹿下树来，用爪子抓了满满两把豆子，又敏捷地跑回树上，在树枝上坐下来吃豆子。他张开一只爪子，一颗豆子掉在了地上。猴子毫不犹豫就从树枝上跳下来找豆子，可这样一来，爪子里其他的豆子全都给洒了。
国王观察到了这只笨猴子，觉得有趣极了。他转身问他的参事：“朋友，这猴子因小失大这事儿你怎么看？”
“蠢人就是这么干的，”参事回答，“他们总是为了一丁点儿不确定的东西放弃很多确定的东西。”
他又补充道：“我们也是这样，尊敬的陛下，我们不也跟那树上的猴子一样吗？为了得到那一丁点儿，对很多东西都视而不见——我们跟丢豆子的猴子没什么两样呢。”
国王听出了这是在指责他，意识到自己让整个国家陷于无人守护的危险之中是多么愚蠢的行为。他立刻传令下去，率领部队即刻班师回朝。
-harebrained [ˈheəbreɪnd] adj. 轻率的
-outlaw [ˈaʊtlɔː] n. 歹徒
-steed [stiːd] n. 坐骑
-trough [trɒf] n. 水槽；食槽
-scamper [ˈskæmpə(r)] v. 惊惶奔跑
-nimbly [ˈnɪmblɪ] adv. 敏捷地
为林边上的一抺绿色而执着，无异于放弃业已拥有的整片森林。