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"This banana is not ripe. I don’t
like green bananas," Chipo said. She sat in the banana palm, her long tail
wrapped around a branch.
"Why do monkeys always eat bananas?
Why can’t we eat coconuts, or papaya, or termites?" Chike wondered.
"We’re monkeys; that’s what we do.
We swing from trees and eat bananas," Chipo replied. She swung down to the
ground and sat on the roots, looking across the river. "I wonder what’s on
the other side of the river. It looks like there are a lot of banana trees
over there. Maybe there are so ripe ones with yellow peel."
"I’ve never been across the river,"
Chike answered. He swung down next to Chipo. "Let’s cross it and find
out."
"Chike, how do we get to the other
side? The river is moving fast. We’ll drown."
Tabansi came down to the river to
get a drink. He spotted the two monkeys sitting at the bottom of a tree.
"Hello," he shouted. "Why are you on that side of the river? There are a
lot of banana trees on this side."
"I knew it!" Chipo exclaimed. "That
giraffe just said there were. How do we get to the other side?" she
shouted.
Just then a bright-colored toucan
landed on a branch near Tabansi’s head. "Squawk! Why are you monkeys
sitting over there when all the banana trees are over here?" Abiba asked.
Zaid, the snake, slithered to the
riverbank. "The bananas are yellow and ripe. Come across," he hissed.
"How do we get across to the other
side?" Chike yelled.
"Swim across. The water’s not that
swift," Abiba answered. "I’ve got a better idea. I’ll fly over there and
you can hold onto my talons and then I’ll fly you back over." She flapped
her wings and flew over to the other side. "Grab on tight, Chike," she
said and took off. Chike was much heavier than she’d thought and felt
herself going lower and lower. "Let go. I can’t carry you any more."
They were right in the middle of the
river, just a few feet above it. "If I let go, I’ll drown," Chike cried.
"Let go or we’ll both drown," Abiba
squawked.
Chike let go and fell with a splash
into the river. He started to swim and made it to the other side. He
coughed and gasped for breath after swallowing a lot of river water. "I
did it. I made it to the other side. Come on over Chipo. It’s not that
bad!" he shouted.
Chipo watched in horror as Chike
fell into the river. She was relieved to see him pull himself onto the
muddy bank on the other side. Tabansi, Abiba and Zaid called, "Come on
Chipo. You can do it!"
She stood on the tree root and dove
into the water. She was very scared, but kept swimming as fast as she
could. The water was cool and Chipo worried that there were crocodiles
lurking about. "I’m getting tired," she called to the others. "There
aren’t any crocs in this river, is there?" She swam faster just in case.
When she felt she could go no further, she started to sink under the
water. Tabansi lowered his long neck and grabbed Chipo by the tail. He
lifted her into the air and dropped her in the grass near Chike. Both of
the monkeys lay still for a few minutes, coughing all the water out of
their lungs. A few minutes later Chipo sat up and said, "Now, where are
those banana trees?" She was suddenly feeling very hungry.
Tabansi started to laugh. "Is that
all you monkeys think about?"
Zaid hissed, "Follow me. I’ll show
you."
Abiba squawked and flew off to find
some fruit and seeds. Chipo and Chike ran behind Zaid as he slithered into
the bushes. "Here they are."
Chipo and Chike climbed the nearest
banana palm and filled themselves on ripe fruit. When they were full and
their tummies fat and stuffed with food, Chipo remembered something. "Chike,
Mama said we weren’t allowed to cross the river. She’s going to be angry
with us. We’d better get back."
Chike grabbed an armful of bananas
and the two ran down to the river. Their mama was standing on the other
side calling to them. "Chike, Chipo, what are you doing over there. Come
back to this side right now."
"But Mama, how do we get to the
other side?" Chike screamed.
Tabansi was standing near a tree
nibbling on its tender leaves. "Here we go again!" |
