Buy me a coffee?
A man and his wife were visiting the zoo one day. They stopped by the monkey area and watched a male monkey really putting on a show for his female partner – playing hard, grooming her, chasing her around. It was very lively.
“Wow,” the wife said, “Look how romantic they are! He’s giving her so much attention.“
A bit later, they got to where the lions were. The big male lion was just lying quietly by himself in a corner. The lioness was resting somewhere else, and it looked like they weren’t paying any attention to each other.
“That’s kind of sad,” the wife commented quietly. “It doesn’t look like there’s much love there.“
Her husband thought for a second, then said, “Pick up a small stone and just toss it gently towards the lioness, not at her, and see what happens.“
She was a bit unsure but did it. The moment the stone landed nearby, that quiet lion exploded with a huge roar, jumped up, and immediately stood protectively in front of the lioness, looking all around for any danger. All that quietness was gone, replaced by pure defence mode.
They walked on and passed the monkeys again. “Okay,” the husband said, “try the same thing here. Toss a stone near the female monkey.“
She tossed another small stone. The second it hit the ground, the male monkey – the one who seemed so attentive before – let out a scream and scrambled away as fast as he could, leaving the female completely behind. He was only interested in saving himself.
As they continued their walk, the husband explained what he meant:
“Don’t let what you see on the surface fool you,” he started. “That big, noisy show the monkeys put on? It looked like romance, yeah. It’s like a lot of what we see these days – people making big public gestures, posting constantly online about their ‘perfect’ relationship, making everything look amazing. It seems passionate.“
He went on, “But often, it’s just that – a show. When a real challenge comes along, like that stone, you find out the connection isn’t very deep. Their first thought is to protect themselves, even if it means leaving their partner behind, just like that monkey did.“
“Then think about the lions,” he said. “They were quiet, maybe looked distant. They weren’t performing for anyone. But their bond is real, deep down. The second there was a hint of trouble, that quiet strength turned into fierce protection. That’s real loyalty, real love. It doesn’t need an audience or lots of ‘likes’; it’s just strong and true when it counts.“
Moral of the story:
Be careful not to confuse flashy displays with real connection. A lot of what gets shown off as ‘romance,’ especially in our world of social media where everyone tries to look perfect, can just be surface-level stuff that hides emptiness or a weak bond. True, strong love is often quieter. It doesn’t need constant attention, but it proves its deep strength and loyalty when faced with real problems.
Unfortunately, today we see so many of these attention-seeking ‘monkeys,’ while the quiet, strong ‘lions’ often go unnoticed.
Leave a Reply