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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43906 ***
+
+THE STORY OF THE TEASING MONKEY
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+BY HELEN BANNERMAN
+
+
+
+
+The Story of The Teasing Monkey
+
+
+    BY THE AUTHOR OF
+    "LITTLE BLACK SAMBO"
+    "LITTLE BLACK MINGO"
+    ETC.
+
+
+    NEW YORK
+    FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+    PHILADELPHIA
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+ONCE upon a time there was a very mischievous little monkey,
+who lived in a big banyan tree, and his name was Jacko.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And in the jungle below there lived a huge, fierce old lion and
+lioness.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Now Jacko was a very teasing monkey. He used to climb down the long
+trailing roots of the banyan tree, and pull the tails of all the other
+creatures, and then scamper up again, before they could catch him.
+
+And he was so bold, he even pulled the tails of the lion and lioness
+one day.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This made them so angry that--
+
+They went to a grim old bear they knew, and they arranged with him that
+he should come with them to the banyan tree, when Jacko was away.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So he came, and standing on the lion's head, he gnawed the roots
+through till they were so thin they would not bear a jerk.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And next time Jacko pulled the lion's tail he gave a great tug--the
+roots broke, and down fell Jacko, into the huge, fierce grim old lion's
+jaws!!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Come here, my dear!" roared the lion.
+
+The lioness came and looked at Jacko. "He is a very thin monkey," said
+she; "we had better put him in the larder for a week to fatten him, and
+then ask Mr. Bear to dinner."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So they put him in the larder, which was just a little piece at the end
+of their cave, built up with big stones, and while the lion built it
+up, the lioness lay ready to spring on him if he tried to escape. It
+was very dark and very cold, and Jacko did not like it at all.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+They left a little window to feed him by, and every day they gave him
+as many bananas as he liked, because they knew monkeys ate bananas, and
+they could get them easily.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Then the lioness wrote a leaf-letter to the bear, asking him to
+dinner, which he, of course, accepted with pleasure.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But Jacko did not get fat, and the reason of that was that he soon
+tired of bananas, and only ate one every day. He gave all the others to
+the rats.
+
+The lion and lioness were rather worried because Jacko did not get fat,
+so one day they stole in to listen to him talking to the rats, and as
+it happened they were just talking about bananas.
+
+"I am tired of bananas," said Jacko. "I wish I could get a cocoa-nut."
+
+"It would make you very fat," said the rats.
+
+"Yes," said Jacko, "and I don't want to be fat for those old lions."
+
+"Ho, ho!" said the lions. "A cocoa-nut will make him fat; we'll get him
+one at once."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But when they came to the tree they could not reach a single cocoa-nut!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So the lion went back and told the little rats _very fiercely_ that he
+would tear down the stones, and eat them all up at once, if they did
+not fetch him down some cocoa-nuts at once.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+This terrified the little rats. They scampered up the tree, and gnawed
+off the cocoa-nuts as fast as they ever could.
+
+But as the cocoa-nuts fell on the heads of the lion and lioness, and
+hurt them very much, the little rats took care to stay up the tree till
+it was dark.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+As soon as their heads felt a little better, the lion and lioness took
+the cocoa-nuts.
+
+And carried them to Jacko.
+
+They had to make a very large hole to put them in, but they built it up
+carefully again.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Jacko was very much delighted to get the cocoa-nuts, but he had hard
+work tearing off the hairy outside.
+
+However at last he got it all off. Then he smashed the cocoa-nuts with
+a stone, and drank the milk, and began eating the nut; and wasn't it
+good after a whole week of bananas!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+While he ate it, he amused himself making a nice warm coat for himself
+of the hairy husk of the cocoa-nuts, and he was so busy he did not
+notice how much he was eating.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And when he put his warm coat on he just looked fearfully fat.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And the lion and lioness peeping in, thought it was all Jacko, and they
+were delighted.
+
+"Isn't he fat and tender?" they said. "We'll eat him to-night, and not
+wait for Mr. Bear."
+
+And they went out for a walk, to get a good appetite.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Poor Jacko! He did not eat any more cocoa-nut after he heard that. He
+pulled off his coat, and smoothed his hair down with his little paws,
+but still he looked fat.
+
+And he smeared himself all over with bananas to make the hair lie flat,
+but _still_ he looked fat.
+
+So he put on his warm coat again, and lay down, and cried himself to
+sleep.
+
+But you must know the bear was a very greedy old bear, and that very
+afternoon, while Jacko was asleep, he came to have a private peep at
+him.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And when he saw him looking so lovely and fat, he just could not resist
+the temptation, and began pulling down the stones as fast as he could,
+intending to eat him all by himself. But he was an awkward, clumsy old
+bear, and all of a sudden--
+
+[Illustration]
+
+With a rumble and a _rattle_ and a CLATTER, and a
+
+CRASH!!!
+
+the stones all came down on top of him, waking poor little Jacko, and
+scaring him nearly out of his wits. But he had the sense to scramble
+out as fast as he could.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The lion and lioness were just coming back, and when they heard the
+noise they came tearing home like the wind, and met little Jacko just
+in the mouth of the cave.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+With a fearful roar the lion struck at him with his claws, but they
+only stuck in the--
+
+[Illustration]
+
+cocoa-nut coat.
+
+Jacko wriggled out of it and ran on.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+With another fearful roar, the lioness seized him in her teeth.
+
+But Jacko was so round with eating cocoa-nut, and so slippery with
+banana, that he popped out from between her teeth, like an orange seed,
+and ran on.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+And the next minute he was safe, and scrambling up the cocoa-nut tree
+at a rate which shook down most of the cocoa-nuts on to the heads of
+the lion and lioness.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+So the lion had a sore head, and the lioness had a sore head, and the
+bear had a sore head, and they had nothing for dinner but
+
+    BANANAS
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of the Teasing Monkey, by Helen Bannerman
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43906 ***