Interesting Stories - The Lion on a Monkey's Visa

Prakash Desai
Jun 11, 2016
2 min read

The story has been circulating over the internet for several years, tweaked with different versions with nice addition of spices adding humor and sarcastically pointing to their personal issue. I don’t know who the original author was but would not fail to praise him for his imagination. I love this story and laugh at it each time I narrate.

“Not long ago at a zoo in Africa there was a young lion that stood erect and proud. He commanded the respect of his fellow cell mates and all other animals in the zoo. Visitors to the zoo admired him for what he was – the king of the jungle. Even so, the dirty living quarters and meager meat just enough for sustenance frustrated him. The lion was frustrated as he was offered not more than 1 kg meat a day.

One day the lion thought its prayers were answered when a US Zoo Manager visited the zoo and requested the zoo management to shift the lion to a US zoo. On arrival in the US, the young lion roared with pleasure when he saw his cell with facilities for an all year round environment – centrally air-conditioned to ward off both summer heat, and the chilly winter.

After the lion settled down they brought him food in an attractive sanitized parcel. A new experience for him. In his country, the meat was just thrown on the dirty floor.

The hungry lion opened the parcel in a hurry. He got a shock when he saw that the parcel contained only bananas. He became angry and wanted to roar out his disappointment. Being intelligent, he restrained himself for he thought the US zoo management cared much for his health, and they knew better.

The time for his next meal came. Again they delivered bananas wrapped in an attractive sanitized bag. Day in and day out they gave him only bananas.

After a few days, the lion, now lean and hungry, trembled with fury, lost its wits, and unable to control himself roared constantly at the zoo attendants, "Don't you know, I am the lion...King of the Jungle....What's wrong with your management? What nonsense is this? Why are you delivering bananas to me instead of meat?"

The manager politely said, "Sir, I know you are the King of the Jungle but....do you know that you have been brought here on a monkey's visa!!!”