Why Do Bananas Belong to Monkeys?
Perhaps you are unaware, but the monkeys believe that they own all of the bananas. When youngsters in Brazil eat bananas, they exclaim, "I am a monkey." I once knew a little guy in Brazil who was obsessed with bananas. He used to say, "I am very much a monkey." If you like bananas, Brazilian youngsters will tell you that you are a monkey as well. This is the story they tell to explain how everything came to be.
Once upon a time, when the world was new and there was only one type of banana but many different types of monkeys, there was a little old woman who had a large garden full of banana trees. The old woman found it difficult to gather the bananas by herself, so she struck a deal with the largest monkey. She informed him that if he gathered the banana bunches for her, she would give him half of them. The bananas were collected by the monkey. When he removed his half, he offered the bananas that grow at the bottom of the bunch and are little and wrinkled to the little old woman. He kept the excellent large fat ones for himself and carried them home to mature in the dark.
The little old lady was furious. She stayed awake all night trying to come up with a strategy to get even with the monkey. She finally came up with a plan.
The next morning, she fashioned a wax figure that resembled a young boy. She then placed a large flat basket on top of the image's head and filled it with the best ripe bananas she could find. They sure looked appealing.
"O, hello," he continued, "would you please give me a banana?" Never once did the wax image respond.
"O, hello," the monkey said again, this time a little louder, "please give me a banana, just one little, ripe little, sweet little banana." Never once did the wax image respond.
The monkey then yelled, "O, hello, if you don't give me a banana, I'll give you such a push that it will upset all of your bananas." The wax figure was deafeningly silent.
The monkey dashed toward the wax picture and hit it hard with his hand. His hand was securely trapped in the wax.
"Oh! "Let go of my hand," the monkey said. "Let go my hand and give me a banana or else I'll give you a hard, hard blow with my other hand." The wax figure would not leave me alone.
With his other hand, the monkey struck the image hard. The other hand remained immobilized in the wax.
The monkey then exclaimed, "Oh! Give up my two hands. Let go of my two hands and give me a banana, or I'll kick you with my foot." The wax figure would not leave me alone.
The monkey kicked the image with his foot, and his foot got trapped in the wax.
"Oh!" exclaimed the monkey, "let go of my foot!" Give me a banana if you let go of my two hands and my foot, or I'll kick you with my other foot." The wax figure would not leave me alone.
The monkey, now enraged, kicked the picture of wax with his foot, and his foot became immobilized in the wax.
"Oh, let go of my foot!" exclaimed the monkey. Let go of my two feet and two hands and give me a banana, or I'll shove you with my body." The wax figure would not leave me alone.
The monkey pushed the wax figure with his body. His body was still stuck in the wax.
"Oh!" exclaimed the monkey, "let go of my body! Let go of my body, two feet, and two hands, or I'll summon all the other monkeys to assist me!" The wax figure would not leave me alone.
The monkey then caused such a commotion with his yells and shouts that monkeys began to flee in all directions. There were large monkeys, small monkeys, and medium-sized monkeys. A whole army of monkeys had gathered to help the biggest monkey.
It was the tiniest monkey who devised a strategy to help the biggest monkey out of his predicament. The monkeys were to climb the tallest tree and pile themselves one on top of another to form a monkey pyramid. The monkey with the loudest voice was to be on top, and he was to shout his loudest to the sun, pleading with the sun to come and help the biggest monkey out of his terrible predicament.
This is what all of the huge, little, and middle-sized monkeys did. The monkey on top of the pyramid with the loudest voice made the sun hear. The sun appeared all of a sudden.
The sun's fiercest beams rained down on the wax. After a while, the wax started to melt. The monkey was finally able to extract one of his hands. More of the sun's hottest rays fell, and the monkey was soon able to pull out his two hands. Then he could pull out one foot, then another, and eventually his entire body. He was finally free.
When the little elderly lady observed what had transpired, she became extremely disheartened about growing bananas. She decided to relocate to another region of the world and grow cabbages instead of bananas. The large garden full of banana plants was left in the hands of the monkeys. From that day on, the monkeys believe they possess all of the bananas.
This a beautiful short story for kids from Brazil. Stories are an amazing way for kids to learn about our world.
Another good way to learn about our world is to buy world map for wall from our store. It is an easy way to understand countries and capitals.
