What does the fable "a handful of corn for a monkey" mean?

This fable implies that no matter how big or small you do things, you must have a clear goal and not be half-hearted. Only by sticking to one goal can you succeed.

A naughty little monkey, after going down the mountain, saw the peach tree covered with big and red peaches for the first time and picked one. Not far away, I saw a cornfield, so I dropped my peaches and broke the corn. Carrying corn, I walked a few steps forward and found a big and round watermelon in the watermelon field, so I left the corn to pick watermelon.

I was walking with a watermelon in my arms when I suddenly saw a rabbit jumping in front, so I left the watermelon to chase the rabbit. As a result, after busy for a long time, the little monkey didn't catch up with the little rabbit, leaving him empty-handed.

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Three fables about monkeys

There are many monkeys on the mountain where the prince of Wu crosses the Yangtze River in Zhuangzi Xu Wugui. The monkeys saw the prince's team running around and hid. But one monkey stayed, jumping up and down calmly, showing its flexibility in front of the king of Wu. The king of Wu hit the monkey with an arrow, and the monkey quickly put it away.

So the king of Wu ordered his entourage to shoot arrows together and killed the monkey. This story is about getting rid of pride. Even if you have great talent, learn to restrain yourself and don't show yourself too much.

"Zhuangzi Tian Yun" said: "If you wear the clothes of the Duke of Zhou, you will tear it and tear it." What looks good to people may not look good to monkeys. Dress the monkeys in gorgeous clothes, and they will surely tear them apart. The idiom "bathing a monkey and winning a crown" derived from this sentence refers to a respectable person who has a gorgeous appearance but no real talent and learning.

The description of the column is more detailed. It tells the story that because of the shortage of food, monkey keepers have customized two feeding schemes for monkeys. When handing out oak fruits, he told the monkeys the first plan: "Give three in the morning and four at night". The monkeys were very angry.

The monkey keeper said the second plan: "Then come four times in the morning and three times in the evening", and the monkeys were all happy. It can be seen that monkeys have a long day. They can eat four in the morning and hope to eat four in the evening. What if they give three in the morning and the host changes his mind at night?

Zhuangzi concluded that "in name only, monkeys pay more attention to immediate interests, so their emotions are manipulated by food, telling people to take a long-term view. This is where the idiom "chop and change" comes from, but its meaning is different from now. Now it refers to people's capriciousness.