Now the monkey was as fond of oranges as any of the birds, and when he
saw a man standing in the tree where the largest and sweetest oranges
grew, he spoke to him at once. “You man,” he said rudely, “throw me
down that big orange up there, or I will throw a stone at you.” The wax
figure took no notice of this request, so the monkey, who was easily
made angry, picked up a stone, and flung it with all his force. But
instead of falling to the ground again, the stone stuck to the soft
wax.
At this moment a breeze shook the tree, and the orange on which the
monkey had set his heart dropped from the bough. He picked it up and
ate it every bit, including the rind, and it was so good he thought he
should like another. So he called again to the wax figure to throw him
an orange, and as the figure did not move, he hurled another stone,
which stuck to the wax as the first had done. Seeing that the man was
quite indifferent to stones, the monkey grew more angry still, and
climbing the tree hastily, gave the figure a violent kick. But like the
two stones his leg remained stuck to the wax, and he was held fast.
“Let me go at once, or I will give you another kick,” he cried, suiting
the action to the word, and this time also his foot remained in the
grasp of the man. Not knowing what he did, the monkey hit out, first
with one hand and then with the other, and when he found that he was
literally bound hand and foot, he became so mad with anger and terror
that in his struggles he fell to the ground, dragging the figure after
him. This freed his hands and feet, but besides the shock of the fall,
they had tumbled into a bed of thorns, and he limped away broken and
bruised, and groaning loudly; for when monkeys ARE hurt, they take
pains that everybody shall know it.
It was a long time before Jack was well enough to go about again; but
when he did, he had an encounter with his old enemy the puma. And this
was how it came about.
One day the puma invited his friend the stag to go with him and see a
comrade, who was famous for the good milk he got from his cows. The
stag loved milk, and gladly accepted the invitation, and when the sun
began to get a little low the two started on their walk. On the way
they arrived on the banks of a river, and as there were no bridges in
those days it was necessary to swim across it. The stag was not fond of
swimming, and began to say that he was tired, and thought that after
all it was not worth going so far to get milk, and that he would return
home. But the puma easily saw through these excuses, and laughed at
him.
“The river is not deep at all,” he said; “why, you will never be off
your feet. Come, pluck up your courage and follow me.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account