As the setting sun sank beneath the glacier-tipped mountain peaks, they glowed red as the embers of a fire. From the flat roofs of the houses Lhasa children flew brightly colored kites from strings sprinkled with powdered glass. The children bobbed and weaved around one another - the kites shadowing their movements - as they laughed excitedly and attempted to cut each other's kite strings. A little boy of about six sat beside his uncle, a monk dressed in maroon robes. They watched the boys kite sail higher and higher into the sky. Caught and held by the wind, it was so high that it appeared not to be moving. Still watching the kite, the boy said, "Tell me a story, uncle." The monk chuckled. "An ancient story then."
"A father said to his son," the monk began, "I am going to die soon, my son. Take my gold to your house. It is yours, but remember that you should not trust anybody, not even your wife." The father hoped that his son, Sonam, would remember his advice and that he would understand the ways of the world.
"Now Sonam had a vety good friend whose name was Tamchu. As children they had theur lessons together and in the evenings played foot-shuttlecock. Tamchu lived in the next village with his wife and two little boys.
"One day Tamchu decided to go on a pilgrimage to the holy monastery and he thought to himself, 'When he was alive, my father told me not to trust anybody.' But when he thought of his friend Tamchu he could not believe that these words were true about him. Not Tamchu. So he took his two bags of gold nuggets to his friends house and asked him 'Tamchu-la, please keep my gold safe for me while I am away. This is the gold my father gave me when he died.'
"Tamchu said, 'Oh yes. Oh yes. I will keep your gold very carefully and when you return from your pilgrimage it will be safe for you. You do not need to worry. We are good friends.'
"So," the monk continued the story, "A year passed and Sonam returned from his pilgrimage. He went to Tamchu's home and asked his friend, 'May I have my gold back Tamchu?'
" 'Oh I am so sorry, Sonam. We are unlucky, so unlucky. The gold has turned into sand!' Tamchu looked at his friend in amazement as he told him of this remarkable happening. But Sonam did not seem surprised, and, after a few moments of silence said, 'That is allright Tamchu. Do not worry. You did your best to look after my gold.'
"The two men ate together, and it seemed that the loss of the gold was almost forgotten. Later in the day, Sonam said to his friend, 'Tamchu, I would like to look after your sons for a few months, as I do not have a family of my own. I would like to give them food and good clothes. We should be very happy together in my home.'
" 'That is a very good idea, Sonam!' Tamchu thought to himself, 'Although he has lost his gold to me, he wants to look after my sons. Well,' he thought, 'he is a very kind person.' So he said, 'Certainly, Sonam. Please take my sons for as long as you wish.'
"Sonam took the boys to his home and looked after them very well. He then bought two little monkeys and gave them the boys names. During the following days Sonam trained the monkeys so that when he called 'Tendzin come here!' the older monkey would run over to him. When Sonam called 'Thupten, come here!' the young monkey went over to him. The monkeys understood very well and learned quickly.
"When Tamchu came to see his sons, Sonam looked very sad as he greeted his friend. 'I am so sorry, Tamchu. We are very unlucky, so unlucky. Your sons have turned into monkeys.' Tamchu was very upset and called out his sons names. Straight away the two little monkeys appeared and ran over to him. They grabbed Tamchu's hands and danced around him like little children. Tamchu was distressed and asked his friend, 'Sonam, what can we do? How can we turn monkeys back into my sons?'
"Sonam thought for a moment and then said to his friend, 'That is easy,' but he sounded sad at the impossibility of such a thing, ' we need a lot of gold.' 'How much gold will do?' Tamchu asked. 'About two bags of gold nuggets, at least!'
" 'As soon as possible,' Tamchu said, 'I will bring the bags of gold.' And he hurried off to his home. Later he came back and gave Sonam the gold. Sonam took it and told his friend to wait while he went upstairs. A few moments later he returned.
" 'Here you are, Tamchu. I have changed the monkeys back into human beings, back into your sons.' "Tamchu was delighted to have his sons back, but he looked sheepishly at Sonam. The two friends could not help laughing at each other."
At the end of the story the monk himself burst out laughing as he saw that his nephew's kite string had been cut while the boy listened to the story. The two of them watched the kite float across Lhasa valley towards the golden rooftops of the Potala.
