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Bobs, the Monkey Who Forgot

star 4.8

Bobs was a monkey. He had soft gray fur, a dear ugly face, and big round eyes. He lived with his mother in a forest beside the sea in Africa. There was the forest, then a road, then rocks, and then the sea. Bobs never went near the sea. He did not like the waves, as they came splash, splash on to the rocks. And he never went near the road. He did not like the bright shiny motor cars which passed so quickly. He was a wise little monkey. He stayed close to his mother, and played in the forest. There were tall trees with big green leaves in the forest, and small trees with sweet red and yellow flowers. There were strange plants, and long monkey ropes on which he liked to swing. He was very happy.

One day, he was playing with two of his friends, when one of them said,

"It’s Saturday."

"What’s Saturday?" Bobs asked.

"Don’t you know?" asked the other.

"It’s the day the white people go to the beach in their cars. We often go to the side of the road to look at them."

"I don’t like cars," said Bobs.

"Ah!" the first monkey went on.

"But sometimes they stop, and the people throw food to us. Last week they threw bananas and sweets."

"Let's go there now." said the other monkey.

"Will you come, Bobs?"

"All right. I’ll come."

So Bobs and his two friends jumped from tree to tree until they came to the road. They sat high up on a branch, and when cars came along, they called to each other, and sang monkey songs to make people look at them.

Soon a car stopped. A lady looked out of the window and said,

"Oh! Look at the monkeys!"

A man and two little girls looked out too. They opened the car door and threw a cake on to the road. The other monkeys ran down to get it, but Bobs stayed up in the tree.

"Look at that dear little monkey in the tree!" said one of the little girls.

"He is too shy to come to us."

Bobs heard her. He jumped down and ran to the car.

"Oh! Isn’t he tiny?"

said the little girls, and they threw a banana to him. Bobs pulled off the peel and took a bite with his small white teeth. It was nice. He wanted to make it last, so he ate it very slowly. When he looked up, there was no car, no lady, no man and no little girls. He could not see his monkey friends around, but he heard them shouting far in the forest.

"You have been away a long time," said his mother when Bobs came back.

"Where have you been?"

He told her about the car, about the people and about the banana. She sat still for a moment and thought. Then she said,

"Bobs, I know that a lot of monkeys go to the road on Saturdays for food. You may go if you wish. But you must remember one thing. Never, never, never get inside a car."

"Oh, no. Mother. I shall never do that."

"Most people are kind, but some are not, and if they catch you, they will take you away."

So after that Bobs often went to the road on Saturdays with his friends. They played and swung in the trees, and watched the cars go by. They called to each other, and sang monkey songs to make people look at them. They ran down to pick up the nice things people threw to them — cakes, bananas and sweets. Sometimes they even took bits of food from the children’s hands. But Bobs did not forget his mother's words

"Never, never, never get inside a car".

That summer, there were many weeks when no rain fell. The monkeys in the forest could not find enough nuts and seeds and berries to eat. They grew thin because they were so often hungry. More and more of them went to the road for cakes, bananas and sweets. The little monkeys went. The mothers and fathers went. The grandmothers and grandfathers went. More cars came along the road than ever before. People came just to see the monkeys. Some of the little monkeys began to do silly things. One had a ride on the roof of a car, until he rolled off, and had to jump to his feet. One sat on the front of a car, until the engine became too hot, and burnt his tail. Some of them even went inside and sat with the people. But Bobs did not forget his mother's words

"Never, never, never get inside a car".

Then the rains came, and no cars went along that road for many days. The monkeys had no nuts and seeds and berries from the forest, and no bananas, cakes and sweets from the people. Once more they were hungry, very, very hungry.

"Oh, I am so hungry!" cried Bobs."

Never mind," said his mother.

"Look! The sun is shining again.

"Next day it was Saturday. The sun was hot. It shone on the waves and the brown rocks. It shone on the road and the forest. It dried up the wet earth. Out came the cars. They stopped. Children threw food from the doors. The monkeys were so hungry that they ran and pushed and scrambled in a very rude way. Poor little Bobs could not get anything to eat. Other monkeys were always there before him, and he was so hungry! Then he saw a boy in a car who was holding out a cake in the open doorway. Bobs gave a big jump and a little run. He was so hungry that he forgot his mother’s words. He got inside the car! Next moment there was a bang and a whiz! The door was shut, and the car was going up the road, away from the sea and the rocks and the forest. Inside the car was Bobs with his soft grey fur, his dear little ugly face, and his big round eyes. He pulled at the door and tried to open it. He put his face to the window. He jumped from side to side with sad little cries. A man drove the car, and beside him sat John, the boy who looked so kind. He looked a nice boy. In some ways he was, but in someways he was not. From his pocket he took a collar and a rope. He put the collar round Bobs’ neck, and held the rope. So soon Bobs found himself at John's home in a small street in the town. The boy put him in a tiny wooden house on the top of a pole in the back garden and tied the other end of the monkey’s rope to the pole. Bobs was very unhappy. He ran up the pole to the wooden house. He ran down the pole to the ground. He ran up again and again until he was tired.

All the time he thought of the sea and the rocks, the road and the forest. He wanted so much to get back to his mother. For six days he stayed there. John spoke kindly to him and gave him food to eat and water to drink.

"Please take me back to the forest," cried Bobs, but John did not understand monkey talk.

On the seventh day, John and his father and mother went out for a ride in the car. Bobs was alone. He sat on the ground by the pole, and pulled at the rope, as he did every day. He bit, it with his sharp teeth, as he did every day. He bit, and he bit, and he bit. Suddenly he bit the rope right through. Ah! He was free now! He ran across the garden. A piece of the rope was hanging from his collar. He ran along a fence, and saw a road full of shops and people and cars.

Oh dear! Could he ever find his way home?

Below him, on the path, two people were talking. He tried to listen, but he heard only one word "Saturday". Saturday! He could follow the cars. They were going past the forest on their way to the beach. His big sad eyes lit up. He looked to see which way most of the cars were going. Then he ran that way. He jumped from fence to fence, from roof to roof. Often people saw him, and shouted, and tried to catch him. But he was too quick for them. On, on he ran until he came to the end of the town, to a long wide road. By the side of it he ran, keeping out of the way of the cars.

At last he saw the sea, and the waves as they came splash, splash on the rocks. He saw the forest with the monkeys in the trees. He heard them as they called to each other, and sang their monkey songs. From tree to tree he jumped. He jumped from the tall trees with big green leaves, and from the small trees with their sweet red and yellow flowers,— until he found his mother!

Oh, how glad she was to see him! She kissed him, and gave him food to eat, she undid his collar with her clever monkey hands. Then she threw it far, far away.

Bobs is a little monkey. He has soft grey fur, a dear little ugly face, and big round eyes. Now he is wise again. He never goes near the sea. He does not like the big waves as they come splash, splash on to the rocks. He does not go near the road. He does not like the shiny motor cars, even if they are full of people with cakes, bananas and sweets. Bobs stays close to his mother, and plays in the forest.

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