The Monkey and the Flea
The Monkey and the Flea
Hello,
This is Jana and welcome to Storynory. I’m back with another cheeky Monkey story.
If I say that the monkey is a small animal, I don’t mean he’s tiny like an insect, or tichy like a teddy bear. I mean that if you stand him next to a grand animal like a real bear or a tigress, well, in that case, you could call him small. It all comes down to who you’re comparing him to. So now you see, that’s why the bear often shouts:
“I’m going to get you, you pesky “Little” monkey!”
And the monkey calls back, “I might be small, but I’m sweet!”
“Sweet! You’ve got to be kidding! You’re about as sweet as a mouth full of bee stings!”
Please note, the bear also calls the monkey “maddening” and the tigress calls him “annoying” and other animals call him “irksome”. These words are all called adjectives and they describe the monkey as someone who is going to make you angry at some point.
Now there is an animal that is a lot smaller than a monkey and his name is Flea. Flea is an insect. He’s about as big as the tip of a pinhead - in fact he’s so small and so fast and so jumpy that you have to squish up your eyes to see him, and even then you might easily miss him.
One day the flea came to live with the monkey. To be exact he set up his new home right in the middle of the monkey’s hairy back. And when he was hungry, he just rolled out of bed and bit the monkey. And then the monkey started to itch and scratch.
“Oh I’ll get you one day, you pesky little flea!” He shouted. And he also used a lot of other adjectives too including “annoying” and “irksome” and “maddening.” All the time he was scratching like mad, trying to catch the flea.
But the flea sprang out of the way and called back, “Can’t catch me! HEE! HEE! HEE!”
The monkey tried every trick to evict the flea from his back. But to no avail.
He tried rolling in the sand, but the flea just called out, “thank you monkey. I’m having fun making sand castles on your back.”
He tried jumping in the river, but it turned out that the flea liked the river because it was cool and refreshing. In any case the monkey had to swim very quickly to the shore because the crocodile was about to eat him.
And finally he asked Priscilla monkey if she would be kind enough to scratch his back for him. Priscilla monkey was happy to oblige, but although she scratched the monkey’s back from morning to dusk, she couldn’t catch the flea.
In fact the flea became even more annoying, jumping up and down and biting the monkey all over.
The flea had huge fun dodging the sharp claws of the monkey and of his friend Priscilla. He grew so confident in his ability to spring on his six legs to safety that one day he sat on the Monkey’s nose. The monkey felt him tickling and went all cross eyed trying to see him. Monkey’s funny expression made the flea laugh making him call out:
“Ha ha can’t catch me! I’m small but mighty!”
But do you know what? It just so happened that the monkey had a peanut shell in his hand, and in a flash he clapped it onto his nose. And this time he was quicker than the flea. He had finally caught his miniscule enemy!
“At last I have you in my power!”He declared wickedly. “Say your prayers you blood-thirsty little critter! You’ve itched me for the last time!”
“Oh please, Mr Monkey sir, you wouldn’t bite me, your little brother, would you?”
“Why not?” Asked the monkey, puzzled. “You’ve bitten me enough times, haven’t you? Besides, what’s this about you being my brother? We’re not related. We’re not even friends. In fact, we are the worstest enemies!”
“But, don’t you see, I’m just like you!” Declared the little captive flea.
“What a cheek! Like me? You’re not at all like me!”said the monkey, more frustrated than ever. “You’re tiny and jump around on six hairy little legs. And most of all, you’re really, really, annoying.”
“Ha!” Said the flea. “Doesn’t that remind you of anyone you know. Aren't you always jumping around on your hairy legs. And don’t the really big animals call you small and pesky, and annoying?”
“Well, yes, they do,” admitted the monkey.
“So you see, we’re just the same, you and me. That’s why I call you brother. And you wouldn’t want to hurt your little brother, would you?”
“Hmm, that depends…” thought the monkey. Then he had an idea. “I won’t call you brother yet. But maybe we can be friends. Now tell me little flea, what does my blood taste like?”
“Why, your blood tastes of banana milkshake.”
“That’s because I eat lots of bananas,” said the monkey. “Do fleas like the taste of banana milkshake so very much?”
“Well it’s ok, but it gets boring after a while.”
“What if I were to tell you that I know a place that serves honey flavoured milkshake? And another one just across the way that serves hot buttered toast. What would you say about moving over there?”
Now the little flea, realising that his prospects were looking up, replied cheerfully, “Why Brother monkey, that sounds like a great place to live.”
“Fantastic!” grinned the monkey. “Call all your friends and relatives and tell them that you are moving into some brand new accomodation where they serve the best food in the jungle!”
And the flea, delighted to be set free from the peanut shell prison, bounced off to gather hundreds of his friends and relatives. It was a veritable army of fleas. Too many to count. In fact, there might have been thousands of them.
The flea army took a solemn oath not to bite any monkeys, before jumping onto the two monkey’s backs. Then the monkey pair swung through the trees carrying the fleas to the place where the tigress and the bear lived just opposite each other. All the fleas on the monkey’s back went running to the bear’s cave and the ones on Priscilla’s back charged into the tigress’s lair.
They soon hopped onto their new homes and sampled the food. It was as delicious as the monkey had promised. The bear tasted of sweet honey and the tigress of hot buttered toast.
“Yippee!” They called out. “The food here is delicious. Thank you brother and sister!”
“No problem,” replied the monkey relieved. “Hope you live happily ever after in your new homes.”
But the bear and the tigress were far from happy. And nothing they could do would get rid of the fleas.
Not diving in the river.
Not rolling in the sand.
Not scratching each other’s backs.
The bear itched all day and night. “I’ll get you, you pesky little fleas!” He called out.
The tigress was also going mad with itching.
“You little fleas are even more annoying than monkeys!” She cried.
And both the bear and the tigress hopped around trying to shake off the fleas. But it was no use. The fleas were unshakable! And more than likely to stick around for some time!
And the monkey sat high up in a tree clapping with joy at the scene below.
“I am no longer the most irritating animal in the jungle,” he announced. “And I don’t mind losing my top title, because it’s fun to watch the funny new dance that the bear and the tigress have come up with. I shall call it the flea dance!”
And remember, however small you are, there’s always someone smaller. And however bug you are, there’s always someone bigger!
And however tricky you are, there’s always someone trickier!
And that was The Monkey and the Flea, read by me Jana, for Storynory.com
I hope you enjoyed the story.. What a cheeky monkey!
Drop by soon for more stories!
Bye for now!
