Chimpanzees, called "great apes", are some of the most intelligent animals on Earth. Their hair can vary in colour, from brown to black, but part of their body is bare. They have long arms, opposable thumbs, and protruding mouths. Of all the animals at the zoo, they were among the most popular. Every day, hundreds would come and visit them, and every day, those hundreds would leave happier.
Gibbons, called "lesser apes", are still intelligent, but not as much so. They can have several different colours, from tan to brown to black. Their arms are even longer than those of the chimpanzees, but they still possess easily identifiable opposable thumbs. Although many still visited the gibbons at the zoo, they were not as popular as the chimpanzees. Every day, only dozens would come and visit, but still every day, those dozens would leave happier.
In the zoo, these two apes, different but similar, lived together in a single cage. The cage was metallic, with many thin silver bars punctuated by thicker ones. Visitors could see perfectly inside, and the apes could see everything outside. Although they spent most of their time together, the chimpanzees still possessed a feeling of superiority over the gibbons. At the zoo, the chimpanzees were more sought out than the gibbons by visitors, due to their larger popularity and similarities with them. However, these two groups of animals were still able to live together in perfect happiness. Neither group considered themselves superior to the other, and neither group would ever cause any harm to the other.
One fateful day, a day of dark skies filled with vast grey clouds, zookeepers would enter the peaceful cage and cause a great rupture within. These regular visitors of the apes' cage installed a line, dividing the chimpanzees and gibbons. Upon this new line, they built an impenetrable silver cage. This sudden change also had a devastating effect on the two groups of apes, a negative change. The chimpanzees had been allocated a space closer to the visitors, as they were more popular with them. This section had grass that grew greener and longer, trees that stood prouder and taller, and a better view of the limitless world outside. The chimpanzees developed feelings of superiority over the gibbons, as they felt that their enclosure given by external factors reflected their own superiority.
That same day, the group of gibbons were laying down, still at rest, despite the cataclysmic changes that had happened to their cage. However, as they peered over at the chimpanzees' half, some of the gibbons felt as though they were being treated unfairly. These individuals spoke their sentiments to the others in the group, and all were in agreement. They ambled over to the silver divider between the two groups of apes, and called to the chimpanzees. The latter were currently resting, taking advantage of the beautiful trees they were given. When the chimpanzees heard the gibbons calling them, several went down to the ground and up to the seemingly impenetrable silver cage. The gibbons voiced their feelings about this unfair treatment to the chimpanzees, and wondered whether they could ever get some of their space back. Although the gibbons did not know this, the chimpanzees were able to open the cage from their side. Despite this, the chimpanzees replied firmly and swiftly:
"No."
An hour later, the gibbons had largely given up. The apes, despite their feelings that it was unjust, were prepared to accept this new reality that had come upon them. However, the chimpanzees were not prepared to let the gibbons simply live at a semblance of peace. The feelings of superiority that these apes had found were beginning to be taken out on the gibbons. The chimpanzees looked around their cage, and found many small pebbles, some sharp, others dull, all could be hurled. Despite the apes' poor throwing skills, they were still able to surprise and hit some of the distracted gibbons. Although the gibbons wished to fight back against the chimpanzees' oppression, they could not find any throwable pebbles around their cage. The gibbons simply had to dodge and retreat back into a corner of their space.
Throughout the day, the chimpanzees' onslaught continued. They went from tossing pebbles, to launching sticks in between the thin bars of the cage. The gibbons could not rest, as the chimpanzees sought to push these apes even further back into the recesses of their space. When the chimpanzees eventually could not even reach the cornered gibbons, they began to hurl insults at them. The apes were ruthless, and the gibbons could not even remember what they were like before the cage's divide. Such is the impact of feelings of superiority, sentiments which can make individuals do terrible things to other groups. Thus the group of gibbons went to sleep that night, alone in a corner of their cage, with a single tree to sleep in.
The next day, the chimpanzees and gibbons woke up to find that their cage spaces had been swapped. The zookeepers wished to experiment which group of apes would fit better in each cage. However, when the chimpanzees woke up, they were shocked at this new change that had befallen them. They no longer felt superior over the gibbons, who were now looking down upon them from their new enclosure, with smiles on their faces. The gibbons did not abuse the chimpanzees, as they had walked in their shoes but a day ago. That night, the zookeepers returned to the apes' cages, and took down the silver barrier between them. The visitors did not like the new divider, as they used to enjoy watching the two groups of apes living together in the same shared space. The chimpanzees and gibbons were then free to share their land once again, without a hint of superiority to be found. The chimpanzees had realised that they should never let themselves be overcome with feelings of superiority. Thus the two groups of apes, different but similar, lived together in a single cage.
