Tradition and story time — not medical advice
The Monkey and the Crocodile
Retold for young children from Jataka Tales (retold by Ellen C. Babbitt, 1912), public domain.
A monkey lived in a rose-apple tree on a riverbank, sharing his sweet fruit each day with a crocodile who rested nearby. In time the crocodile's wife heard about these wonderful fruits and told her husband she simply had to taste the monkey's heart, believing anyone who ate such fruit every day must have the sweetest heart of all.
The crocodile didn't want to hurt his friend, but he loved his wife, so he came up with a plan: he invited the monkey to ride across the river on his back, to see the fruit trees on the far side. The monkey happily climbed on — and partway across, the crocodile began to sink down into the water.
"What's wrong?" asked the monkey, suddenly nervous. The crocodile admitted the truth: his wife wanted the monkey's heart, and he'd been asked to bring it to her. Thinking fast, the monkey said, "Oh, if only you'd told me sooner! Monkeys always leave their hearts hanging safely in the tree while they travel — mine is back on that branch we just left!"
The crocodile, believing him, swam straight back to the tree so the monkey could fetch his "heart." The moment they reached the bank, the monkey scrambled up into the branches and called down, "Silly fellow — how could any creature live with its heart hanging in a tree? Now, off you go, and don't come looking for my heart again." And from then on, the monkey stayed on his own side of the river, safe and sound.
Talk about it (ours, not from the source): the monkey stayed calm and thought his way out of trouble instead of panicking. What's something clever you've done when you felt scared?
Source: Jataka Tales, retold by Ellen C. Babbitt (1912, The Century Co.) — "The Monkey and the Crocodile". Public domain. Read the original.
Why public domain: US: first published 1912, more than 95 years ago, so public domain in the US regardless of the author's death date (Project Gutenberg eBook #62514).