When the tree falls, the monkeys will scatter -- loss of a supporter.; members run away when the family or situation falls; monkeys disperse when the tree falls; rats leave a sinking ship; Once the tree falls, the monkeys on it will disperse.; The monkeys scatter helter-skelter when the tree falls.; the whole situation will change when the tree falls and the monkeys scatter; When an influential person falls from power, his hangers-on disperse.; When the chief falls from fortune or power, his followers disperse all at once.; When the mighty tree falls, the crowd of monkeys which it has sheltered will scatter in every direction.