A Monkey Story

At the end of Ishmael Beah's book, "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier," he relates an interesting story that he and all the other kids were told by a story teller:

A hunter was hunting monkeys in the forest when he spotted one sitting in a low branch with his back to him eating some food. The hunter walked slowly and quietly, not snapping any twigs or rustling any leaves. He was amazed that the monkey was sitting in a low branch, but that didn't concern him much as it was an easy target and would be good food. He managed to get fairly close to the monkey, which still had its back to the hunter and was still eating. The hunter raised his gun, got a bead on the monkey, and was just about to pull the trigger when the monkey spoke.

"If you shoot me," the monkey told the hunter, "your father will die. If you don't shoot me, your mother will die."