One day when a monkey was climbing a tree in the forest in which he lived, he ran a thorn into his tail. Try as he would, he could not get it out, so he went to a barber in the town and said:

“Friend Barber, I have a thorn in the end of my tail. Pull it out, and I will pay you well.”

The barber tried to pull out the thorn with his razor, but in doing so he cut off the end of the tail. The monkey was very angry and cried:

“Barber, Barber, give me back my tail, or give me your razor!”