The Man Who Would Be King of the Apes
audio story with text
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Two fairy tales from Southern China. In the first, a man is lost in the jungle, and is crowned King of the Apes. The second is a little like a romantic fairy tale that is well known in the west.
Hello, hello and welcome back to Storynory!
You’re listening to Jana, and I’m here with two stories from Southern China - the first is called The Man Who Would Be King of the Apes
Once in a quiet Chinese village, there lived a poor woodcutter called Wei. Wei was not very good at cutting wood, and his wife Mei often reminded him of this.
"Wei, you’ve been gone all morning! Did the trees run away from you again?" she sighed, shaking her head.
One misty morning, hoping to bring something home - anything - Wei wandered deeper into the forest than ever before, searching for wild mushrooms. But the forest was big and dark, and soon he was lost.
Wei sat down beneath an ancient tree and folded his legs like the monks he had seen meditating.
"I’ll just rest a moment," he murmured — and promptly fell fast asleep.
In the morning, a young ape looked down from a tree and spotted Wei.
"See!" he cried to the other apes. "Our ancestor has returned!"
Soon, apes of all shapes and sizes were peering down, scratching their heads and whispering.
"Yes, yes," said the eldest ape, stroking his chin. "He has no tail. That is very wise. Clearly, he is our great forefather. We must make him KING!"
Before Wei knew what was happening, the apes lifted him high into the air and carried him through the forest, chattering and singing songs about their new royal ruler.
Naturally Wei was terrified. Perhaps they were going to sacrifice him. But there was nothing he could do.
But the apes, far from meaning to harm him, only wanted to honour him. Worship him even. They brought him to their home - an ancient, long abandoned palace overgrown with vines. There they sat him on a throne made of stone.
"Is this a dream?" thought Wei as they crowned him with a wonky golden crown. The apes shrieked from the trees and jumped up and down on the branches. Again he felt frightened, until he realised that they were cheering him.
Next, smaller apes handed him golden goblets filled with coconut milk, and others brought bamboo trays piled high with fruits and nuts.
They placed diamond rings on his fingers and hung gold ornaments around his neck.
He realised that he, a poor woodcutter, who was not even that good at cutting wood, had become King of the Apes. And soon he found the reason why. When he was wandering around the ruined palace he found a room where pictures were painted on the walls. He found one image of a king wearing a crown. It seemed that the apes thought this man was their ancestor.
Over time he learned the language of the apes. It was mostly hoots, claps, and wiggly eyebrow signals — and he spent his days settling important disputes like:
"Who took the last banana?"
And
"Is it polite to swing and burp at the same time?"
Wei gave very wise answers, such as, "Share nicely," and "Only burp if you say 'excuse me' afterwards."
The apes adored him.
But as time passed, the apes started to ask tricky questions.
"Why does the Great Forefather need to sleep in a bed and not in a tree?"
And
“Why does he refuse to eat even the most delicious ants and termites?”
And
“Why is he afraid to swing on the vines?
Wei decided not to wait for more questions. One starry night, he packed as much gold as he could carry and tiptoed out of the forest.
When he reached home, Mei began to scold him.
“And where have you been all this time?” she demanded to know. “What kind of good for nothing husband disappears for months on end without saying word?”
But then Wei poured a shower of gold coins into her lap.
"Never mind where I got them," he whispered. "Let’s just say... I made a brilliant business deal!"
Mei said nothing — she was too busy polishing the gold.
Now news travels fast.
Their neighbour, Jin, soon heard that Wei had returned from a big business trip and was now rich. His wife heard too.
"Brilliant deal, eh?" she said to him. "If that fool Wei can make all that money, why can’t you?"
S
o every day Jin asked Wei for the true story of how he became rich. Eventually Wei gave in, and whispered the strange tale to him. He swore his neighbour to secrecy, but of course Jin told his wife, and his wife ordered him to hurry deep into the forest and to sit and meditate until the Apes made him their king.
The next day, Jin hurried off into the forest, and did exactly what Wei had done.
Before long, the Apes spotted him.
“Is this another ancestor?” asked a young ape.
"No, that is NOT our ancestor! This is a cheeky impostor!" an elder roared. “And he’s come to trick us out of our gold.”
Before Jin could open his eyes, the apes pelted him with nuts, twigs, rotten fruit and a very large coconut. He ran for his life, dodging branches, and arrived home covered in leaves and bruises.
"What happened to your brilliant deal?" asked his wife.
"Let’s just say," Jin muttered, pulling twigs from his hair, "the apes weren’t hiring new kings today."
And that was the story of the Man Who Would Be King of the Apes, an ancient tale from Southern China.
Coming up, we have one more story from China, and this one has a touch of romance.
The Fairy Serpent
Long ago, in a village beneath green mountains, there lived a silk merchant and his three daughters.
Each day, the merchant returned home from his business with wildflowers that he had picked from the forest. The girls put the flowers in vases, and used them as inspiration for their embroidery, as they sewed peonies, lotuses, and plum blossoms into silk cloths.
But one day, there were no flowers to be found along the path.
"I cannot return empty-handed," thought the merchant, and so he wandered deeper among the trees.
Suddenly, from the shadows, a great fairy serpent, shimmering with gold and green scales, coiled down from the branches.
"Who dares enter my garden and pick my flowers?" asked the serpent sternly.
The merchant bowed low. "I meant no harm, noble spirit. I wished only to bring blossoms to my daughters."
The serpent’s eyes gleamed. "Daughters, you say? I am alone here in my forest. Give me one as my bride, and I will let you go."
The merchant was troubled. He offered silks, gold and even promised a share of his future profits — but the serpent shook his head.
"What use is gold when the heart is empty?" he said. "My price is set. So which is it to be, your daughter’s hand in marriage, or your life?"
Seeing that he had no real choice, the merchant agreed to the Serpent’s terms.
At home, sorrow hung over the house.
The merchant grew pale and quiet. He refused his meals, and sat each day deep in thought.
At last, the daughters, worried by his silence, asked what troubled him so.
When he admitted that he had promised one of them as a bride for a fairy serpent, the eldest daughter cried:
"I will not marry a serpent, even if he is a fairy."
The second daughter also refused firmly. “What were you thinking, father?” she asked. “How could one of us possibly marry a serpent?”
But the youngest, Lan, lowered her eyes and spoke gently.
"Father, if duty calls me, I shall not turn away."
At once, her father’s spirits lifted, and he began to eat his meals and recover his health.
Even so, Lan was in no rush to leave.
Soon, strange visitors arrived.
As the sisters embroidered bees and things and flowers a wasp flew into the room. He wore a tiny cap and cape, and bowed in the air like a herald.
"Buzz buzz buzz, not much time —
Who will wed the snake so fine?"
The sisters waved their needles at him and chased him away.
The next day came two wasps, dressed as tiny messengers.
"Buzz Buzz buzz, come the faster —
Who will wed the snake, our master?"
And the day after that came three wasps, grandly dressed with tassels and ribbons.
"Buzz buzz buzz, don't say no —
The serpent waits, so off you go!"
Soon the air was filled with buzzing voices. The girls could no longer chase them away.
At last, Lan rose and said calmly, "The wasps will not leave. The serpent waits. I will keep our father’s promise."
Her family wept, but knew they could not hold her back.
With farewell bows, Lan set off, guided by the wasps, who hummed softly as they led her deep into the forest.
At the journey’s end, they came to a hidden palace.
The doors opened without a sound. Inside were carved chairs shaped like dragons and phoenixes, lanterns glowing softly, and shelves filled with jade, pearls and silks.
The serpent welcomed her courteously.
"Lady Lan, you are mistress of this house."
His voice was warm, and not at all hissy, though his scaly skin still unsettled her.
In the days that followed, life was peaceful. Bowls of rice and green tea appeared by magic. Fine dresses awaited her each morning.
The serpent doted on her and they often talked or walked together. And if she was ever bored, he brought her fine silks so that she could practice her art of embroidery.
Though she was shy at first, Lan soon laughed at his ways. He slithered ahead to open doors for her, used his tail to pour the teapot, and tried his best not to say SSSS when he was speaking to her.
As days passed, Lan grew fond of his company and felt strangely lonely when he was not near.
One day, she awoke early to visit her father and sisters, and give them news of her new life. On her return, the forest paths grew dark and twisted. She lost her way among the trees, and by the time she found her path home, the moon hung high.
The palace was silent.
"Where is he?" she called. Her voice echoed back at her, but there was no reply .
She searched room after room until she reached the garden. There, by a dry well, lay the serpent.
His colours had faded. His eyes were closed.
Lan fell to her knees, tears filling her eyes.
"You waited... and I was too long," she whispered.
She gently lifted him and carried him into the palace. But he was almost motionless.
Without hesitation, Lan ran out into the woods, filled a jar from a moonlit stream, and hurried back.
She knelt beside him.
"Please... do not leave me," she said softly, her tears mingling with the water as she poured it gently over him.
The drops clung to his scales and began to glow.
Slowly, his body shimmered and changed. The serpent's coils unwound. Before Lan’s eyes, he transformed — tall and graceful, wearing robes fine as mist.
His eyes opened. He smiled.
"Lan," he said. "Your duty, your care, and your gentle heart have broken the spell.”
Lan wiped her tears and smiled back.
"You were never truly frightening," she said. "Even with knots and scales."
The prince took her hand.
"Will you stay, as Lady of the Forest Palace?"
Lan nodded. "I will stay as long as I am needed, and as long as I may visit my family every now and then.”
And so they were married, and Lan brought gifts and joy to her family once more.
From that day, the palace shone brighter. The wasps sang cheerful songs, and birds built their nests among the blossoming trees.
Lan and her prince often visited her old village, where the people whispered how duty, patience, and a gentle heart can turn even a serpent into a true friend.
And that was the Chinese tale of the Fairy Serpent. Did it remind you of a famous fairy tale from Europe? Stories tend to pop up in slightly different forms all over the world.
Think of the story of the flood. Long ago, people everywhere told tales of huge floods, like Noah’s Ark in the Bible, or similar stories from Mesopotamia and Ancient China. Even though they lived far apart, people remembered a time when waters covered the world.
Then there’s Cinderella. Did you know there's a Cinderella in China called Yeh-Shen, and another in Egypt, named Rhodopis? All these stories tell about a kind-hearted girl who overcomes hardship to find happiness.
And of course, there’s Beauty and the Beast, just like this story of Lan and the Fairy Serpent. From China to France, from serpent princes to enchanted beasts, storytellers everywhere loved to imagine that kindness and courage could break a magical spell.