The Kyogen Play - Utsubozaru (The Monkey Skin Quiver)

Source: I Think I am a Verb: More Contributions to the Doctrine of Signs, Thomas Albert Sebeok, Springer-Verlag New York, LLC, 1986, p. 120.

A Daimyo goes out hunting with his servant Taro Kaja, and on the way they meet a Monkey Trainer.  The Daimyo want to borrow the Monkey’s skin to cover his quiver.  The Trainer, of course, refuses so the Daimyo gets angry and threatens to kill both the Trainer and the Monkey.  The Trainer finally agrees, and asks for a few minutes to say goodbye.  He also says that instead of shooting the Monkey with an arrow, which would harm the skin, he will kill it himself.  He starts to strike the Monkey, and the Monkey mistakes his action for a signal to perform, so it grabs the stick and uses it as an oar.  The Trainer begins to cry, the Daimyo asks the reason, and the Trainer replies that he has raised and trained the Monkey from the time it was born, so it is like a son to him.  The Daimyo is greatly moved, and decides not to kill either the Monkey or the Trainer.  In gratitude, the Monkey performs and the Trainer sings.  The Daimyo presents his fan, sword, and even his own clothes to the Monkey Trainer; then he begins to dance and perform with the Monkey, thus ending on a happy note.