A farmer took his newly wed wife to see the big city. Being a country bumpkin, he was excited to see all the hustle and bustle of the big city.

He and his wife came to a crowd surrounding a monkey show. The man gave instructions, and the monkey dressed in a red vest and a red hat would perform wacky tricks. The crowd applauded and threw money on the ground for the monkey to pick-up. The farmer thought, this is a great way to make a living! It looks fun, unlike the arduous farm work, and it pays well, too.

When the monkey show ended, and the crowd went on it's way, the farmer approached the performer and started chatting. "Hey, great show! and nice turnout, too!" said the farmer. The monkey's owner replied, "Thanks, it's nothing much, but enough for me to get by."

The farmer continues, "I envy what you do for a living. You've got a smart monkey, too. I wish I could be doing what you do. Say, would you be willing to sell your monkey to me? I'll give you money for you to do another business."

The monkey's owner was a little surprised, but said as he continued putting away his props, "No thanks, I don't want money. The monkey is not for sale. She's been with me everywhere I've gone. We perform, eat, sleep together. She's my companion... almost like a wife to me. I can't sell her."

The farmer would not give up, "My friend, I really want to have your monkey. If the monkey is like a wife to you, what do you say if I swap my wife for your monkey?"

The performer was really surprised this time and opened his eyes wide. "You want to swap your wife for this monkey!? Where is your wife?" The farmer pointed to his wife, who was standing by a tree.

The performer took a look and thought, the wife was nice looking. If the fool doesn't know how to treasure a nice girl like that, I'll take her, and he can have the monkey.

The wife heard everything and was furious at how her husband valued a monkey more than herself. But then she thought, this might just be the best punishment for him! Besides, it might actually be kind of fun to travel the world with this performer. So she actually said, "Yes, that is fine with me."

The performer handed the monkey and the props to the farmer, and walked away with the wife and a pocket full of cash.

The farmer was eager to make his debut as a monkey master. He walked to the next town and prepared to set up his stage and props. However, the monkey would not listen to his new master, became very agitated, broke loose of the leash, and climbed up the tree.

The farmer and bystanders chased after the monkey but it disappeared fast. The farmer realized that he'd lost everything, sat on the ground and sighed, "Oh no! I have no monkey and no wife now!"

    

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