There was a monkey-hunter who knew how monkeys think.
His tools were a narrow-necked glass bottle and a piece of fruit. He would put the fruit inside the bottle and leave it for a monkey to find.
The monkey would see the fruit, stick his hand inside, and wrap his fist around the prize, but he couldn't pull his fist back out.
When the monkey whimpered, the hunter would make his move, giving the monkey no time to escape.
Thus the hunter caught the monkeys, and he still had the bottle and fruit to use again on the next one.
Inspired by: Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah, free to read online at the Idries Shah Foundation.
Notes: This is on p. 29 in the book. This version of the parable (which is widely known in different versions) comes from the Book of Amu Daria; specifically, a version of the story told by Khwaja Ali Ramitani, who is part of the Naqshbandi Tahiri Golden Chain; see more at Wikipedia.
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