now though the monkey is always very fond of persimmon fruit , he had no use for the seed he had just found . the persimmon - seed is as hard and uneatable as a stone . he , therefore , in his greedy nature , felt very envious of the crab 's nice dumpling , and he proposed an exchange . the crab naturally did not see why he should give up his prize for a hard stone - like seed , and would not consent to the monkey 's proposition . then the cunning monkey began to persuade the crab , saying : " how unwise you are not to think of the future ! your rice - dumpling can be eaten now , and is certainly much bigger than my seed ; but if you sow this seed in the ground it will soon grow and become a great tree in a few years , and bear an abundance of fine ripe persimmons year after year . if only i could show it to you then with the yellow fruit hanging on its branches ! of course , if you do n't believe me i shall sow it myself ; though i am sure , later on , you will be very sorry that you did not take my advice . " 
he wanted the rice - dumpling .
why did the monkey try to persuade the crab ?
why did the monkey try to persuade the crab ?