The Monkey's Travels

This story begins many years ago, in a time nearly forgotten. A young boy, his eyes bright with youthful innocence and enthusiasm, received a gift: a tiny monkey, colored in the hue of purple. The boy loved his monkey, and though he grew, and the monkey did not, the boy still held the monkey tightly in his heart.

Older now, the boy, his eyes still filled with youthful innocence, decided that the monkey should accompany him wherever he went. With pin and hat, he fixed the monkey in place, and held him as a treasure. They were inseperable; the hat to the boy, the monkey to the hat. Friends learned to look for the monkey, riding high above the crowds. When the holidays came, he even dressed up: lightening the hearts of even the Grinchiest of the boy's friends.

And that is how he was dressed, when the ogre found him, and took him away.

-

The boy was kind to his monkey, and cared for him for many months. But in high spirits during the holidays, he tended first to his friends, and lost his monkey; and, forgetfully, wandered away without him, not even realizing his loss.

The monkey waited in the dark. It was cold, and lonely; a place of strange sounds and creatures. At first, he was sure that his boy was sure to come back for him, and take him home. But he waited and waited, and hours passed, and eventually he fell asleep, lonely and afraid.

The next day, the monkey woke up to hear footsteps. He was suddenly very hopeful - perhaps it was his boy! The footsteps grew closer, and much louder than the boy's ever were. The monkey was still hopeful - perhaps he'd gotten boots! This suspicion was furthered by the shadow that now loomed over the monkey.

Then the monkey was lifted high into the air, and realized, to his dismay, that it was not his boy at all that had found him. It was an ogre! Huge, smelly, and two-headed, it bickered with itself, then decided to take the monkey.

Left in the ogre's nest while it wandered looking for food, the monkey despaired. How would his boy find him now. But then it had a realization: The ogre's footprints, quite deep, would lead the boy to his monkey! Now happy again, the monkey spent a little time exploring the lair, then he curled up and napped, waiting for his boy.

He waited for three days. Each day, he grew more nervous, but he consoled himself with stories. Perhaps the boy had gotten lost, and needed the extra days to find himself again! Perhaps the ogre had attacked him, and he was using the time to construct a fiendish trap to defeat the ogre and rescue the monkey! In this manner he spent his time, daydreaming away the winter days, until a man came.

It transpired that this man was not sent by the boy (as the monkey first inquired), but rather came to defeat the ogre, who was rampaging across the countryside. The monkey eagerly helped him, showing him all the parts of the ogre's lair and helping him set up trip-wires and snares, but his first concern was getting back to his boy. Repeatedly he asked the man if he would take the monkey back to his boy when the ogre was slain, and each time the man agreed, smiling and nodding. Of course he would help the monkey!

Then the ogre returned, dragging its club and grumbling as it tromped across the countryside. It was a fierce battle to slay it - even with the tripwires knocking the ogre down and the snares keeping it from getting back up, it swung its club in deadly arcs, and the man was hard-pressed to avoid them. It was the monkey that saved the day - leaping atop the ogre, he blinded it for brief moments, long enough for the man to dodge the club and knock it away. Binding the ogre to bring it back into captivity, the man shook his head sadly when the monkey asked about the boy. But the man shook his head - it was all he could do to keep the ogre under control! He couldn't lead the monkey, too. The monkey would just have to wait! And so the man walked away, leading the ogre (doubly blindfolded, handcuffed, and ankle-cuffed) away, while the monkey sat in the cave-mouth, forlorn.

For a little while the monkey sulked about the man's betrayal, but then he decided - enough was enough! It was clear that no-one else was going to help him, so he would have to find his boy himself. He walked, and walked, and walked. Sometimes it was cold and wet! Other times it was hot and muggy! And there was nowhere comfortable to sleep at all. But at last, the monkey found his way to a little house, one he remembered well.

He knocked on the door, and belatedly, the boy opened it. "Why, it's you, little monkey!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing out here?"

The monkey had tolerated quite enough. He had been left while his boy partied, captured by an ogre, betrayed by an adventurer - and now his boy hadn't even looked for him! He would take no more of this.

With an iron tone in his voice, the monkey delivered his terms to the truant boy. "You will call me Mr. Singe," he told the boy. And there was nothing he could say to that.