THE MEDDLING MONKEY
(Minding your own business, and not listening to the unwise advice of others)
Monkey lived with his large troupe in a grove of thorn trees near the River. They were a cheerful lot, playing, grooming each other, and searching for tasty seeds, leaves and wild fruits.
But Monkey was happiest of all high up in a tall yellow-green fever tree, watching everything that was going on around him with his beady brown eyes.
“Why don’t you come down and join us?” said his friends. “You always sit up in your tree, and never come down to play with us.”
“Ah, but up here I can see everything”, said Monkey. “I can watch all that the other animals are doing, and I am King of the bushveld!”
“Suit yourself”, said his friends. “But we are having far more fun down here.” And they bounced off into another grove of acacia trees where they found lots of crunchy seed pods. Monkey just ignored them, preferring his high-up perch in the fever tree, imagining that he was King of all the bushveld.
One day he was watching the hippos, wallowing peacefully in the shallows and grunting companionably to one another. He thought their life very dull indeed.
“Oh I do love this cool pool on a hot summer’s day”, said Mother Hippo, snorting water through her nostrils. “Pooohh! I could lie here all day long.”
Monkey watched the hippos and thought how idle they were, unable to move very quickly, or move to another part of the bush. He was glad that he could swing nimbly from branch to branch and see more of the world, instead of always staying in the same place.
“Why don’t you come out sometime?” he called. “You always stay in the same pools, never exploring what lies beyond.”
“Because we are perfectly content where we are”, said Mother Hippo. “We enjoy paddling in our own bubble pool here by the waterfall, and have no desire to go anywhere else. Besides, we don’t always stay here, we come out of the water at sundown and graze on the banks.”
Monkey thought that being a hippo must be very boring indeed. So did Little Hippo. She began to think that seeing more of the bushveld might be a very good idea indeed, and began to plan her escape.
The next day, Little Hippo waited until her mother and aunts were enjoying a long wallow in the pool together, and made her way towards the river bank cautiously. She kept a wary eye out for the other dangers about which her mother had warned her, and about straying too far from the family group. She was afraid that a greedy big crocodile might decide to have her for lunch.
Monkey saw her hesitate, and urged her to continue her new adventure. “Don’t worry about the crocodiles” he said, when he was sure that Mother Hippo couldn’t hear, “They are far more interested in eating fish than a small hippo with a fiercely protective family that could trample them to pieces.”
Little Hippo took courage from Monkey’s unwise words, and as quickly as she could, climbed out of the river and onto the bank. Monkey swung down from his fever tree and beckoned her to follow him.
They made their way along a path well worn by the other animals who came down to the river to drink, and found themselves in a glade of spreading wild fig trees.
“Oh this is beautiful!” exclaimed Little Hippo. “I had no idea there were such interesting places beyond the river banks.”
“I told you there was more to the bush than river life,” Monkey said, leading her still farther away from the water and into the thick undergrowth.
“What are you doing here?” asked Tortoise, who was slowly making his way to the river to drink. “Don’t you know that it is very dangerous out here for young animals like yourself?”
“Oh there’s nothing to worry about!” exclaimed Monkey rudely, disliking the wise old tortoise’s words of warning, and interference in his plans. “I know exactly what I’m doing, and don’t need you to tell us what to do.” Tortoise shook his head on his wrinkly old neck, sighed, and continued his slow way towards the river. Little Hippo began to have doubts about her choice of companion, and wished that at least one of the other young hippos had joined them. But, afraid that they might have stopped her and spoiled her fun, she followed Monkey instead.
“Don’t listen to Tortoise”, said Monkey confidently. “He knows nothing about the world beyond this grove, because he can’t go very far with his heavy house on his back.”
Little Hippo thought that it must be very useful indeed to have such a strong fortress at hand, in which to hide if any predators came along. But she kept quiet, more excited by the new world that lay before her, as yet unexplored.
Beyond the grove of wild fig trees they came out onto an open plain, a vast space of tall pale yellow grasses that swayed in the gentle breeze sweeping across the veld. She had to admit that it was becoming rather hot, and could feel the sun burning her tender pink skin.
Jackal appeared to them next, trotting along purposefully, her black-coated back and dust-coloured flanks disguising her from her prey. She liked to hunt small creatures, cunningly stealing baby chicks from their nests on the ground, and catching lizards and insects. Like Monkey, she also ate fruits and berries, and today she was taking a small snake to her den to feed her babies.
“What on earth are you doing so far from the river Little Hippo?” she said, surprised. “Don’t you know that it is very dangerous out here in the savanna, where lions and leopards hunt young animals just like you?”
“I’m showing her the rest of the bushveld” said Monkey crossly, now really beginning to think that the other animals were spoiling their adventure. “Little Hippo only knows her boring pool, and is enjoying seeing the rest of the world. So if you don’t mind, we are going to continue on our way!”
Little Hippo was now really beginning to think that Monkey’s idea wasn’t such a good one, and that perhaps she really ought to get back to her mother, safely wallowing in the family pool. But again Monkey dissuaded her.
“Oh don’t listen to Jackal”, he said impatiently, “She doesn’t know what I do about the bushveld, as she can’t climb trees and see the rest of the world, only what’s on the ground.”
Convinced that Monkey was right, Little Hippo followed him further out onto the plain. Now her young skin really was beginning to feel uncomfortable under the sun’s hot rays, but she didn’t want to admit this to Monkey. Besides, this was her day of new adventure, and she might never get such a chance again.
Just as they rounded a tall ant heap, they saw Hyena loping along. Always scavenging for other animals’ left-overs, he did appear to be rather hungry. Monkey began to wish that he hadn’t brought Little Hippo out here after all, and, beginning to feel a little scared, wondered how he could take her home without appearing to be a spoil-sport.
But it was too late! Hyena had spotted them. Monkey wondered what to do next, but it would certainly not be to admit to Little Hippo that they had come too far out, and that he was afraid. There was also no tree into which he could quickly climb, out of Hyena’s reach, and Little Hippo would certainly not be able to follow him up a tree.
“Hee hee hee! What have we here?” laughed Hyena, beginning to gallop towards them.
“Oh dear!” squealed Little Hippo. “What are we going to do now? I can’t run very fast, and my mother is far away!”
But just as Hyena was nearly upon them, Buffalo stepped out from a dried out hollow where she had been enjoying a quiet dust bath to get rid of her ticks.
“Now you just stop right there!” she told Hyena sternly. Mother Hippo is my river friend and I will not allow you to touch her baby with one single fang. Monkey,” she scolded, “You should know better than to bring Little Hippo so far from her family, and out in the hot sun, too!”
Monkey looked ashamed, “I just wanted to show Little Hippo the rest of the world”, he squealed, too afraid to tell Buffalo that they had come this far without Mother Hippo even knowing. “Her life seemed so dull, staying in the same pool all day, so I thought we would have a little adventure.”
“Well you just follow me, Little Hippo”, said Buffalo, “I know the quickest way back to your pool, and don’t listen to Monkey’s nonsense ever again!”
They made their way back through the bush, Monkey following with his tail hanging down dejectedly. He was grateful to Buffalo for saving them from a tricky situation, from which he had no idea how to escape. Hyena slunk back into the grasses, sorry that he had lost the opportunity of a nice plump little hippo for supper.
Once back in the hippo pool, Mother Hippo was too relieved to see Little Hippo to be cross.
“Thank you so much for saving Little Hippo and bringing her home safely,” she said to Buffalo. “I am indeed very grateful!”
Little Hippo had been so frightened, and her skin was so painfully sunburned, that Mother Hippo thought that was punishment enough. She also knew that Little Hippo had learned her lesson: not to listen to the unwise words of others, and to be content and safe with her family.
“And you, she scolded Monkey, “I hope you have learned your lesson too: not to meddle in the affairs of other animals, and to mind your own monkey business!”
