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(The monkey may be smart but it can still be fooled.)
Contextual Information
This proverb was taken from a 50-year-old Chinese-Filipina living in Los Angeles, California, in August, 1995. She first learned this when she was ten years old in 1956 in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, from elderly relatives.
Informant Interpretation
For her, it means that no matter how intelligent you are, there is a time that you can be fooled by somebody. You have to watch and take care because you cannot trust anybody, not even a best friend, she said.
She believes in this proverb because she has seen other people take advantage of her friends. She has even seen relatives victimizing other relatives, she said. Her belief in it is so strong that she stressed that she has never been fooled in her life because she took to heart the message of the proverb.
She has heard it many times while growing up in the Philippines but not at all in America where she has lived since 1983.
PinoyStuff Folklore Editor Interpretation
This proverb warns people not to be too cocky because intelligence cannot replace common sense which is necessary to avoid being fooled.
***This exact proverb is on page 330 in Philippine Folk Literature: The Proverbs, compiled and edited by Damiana L. Eugenio, Quezon City: U.P. Folklorists Inc., 1992. The meaning given is "No matter how wise (clever) the monkey, it can still be fooled."
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