Why Monkeys Live in Trees and Other Stories of the Great Outdoors

Animal Stories for Bedtime SALARIYA

why

Monkeys

live intrees and other stories of the great outdoors

John Townsend

Martina Peluso

Why monkeys live in trees and Other Stories of the Great Outdoors

Published in Great Britain in MMXXII by The Salariya Book Company Ltd 25 Marlborough Place, Brighton BN1 1UB www.salariya.com ISBN: 978-1-913971-60-1 © The Salariya Book Company Ltd MMXXII All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

135798642 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound in China This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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Author: John Townsend worked as a Secondary School teacher before becoming a writer of children’s books for all ages. He has also worked for the National Literacy Trust as a ‘Reading Champion’.

Artist: Martina Peluso studied printing at the Institute of Art in Naples. Based in Edinburgh, she has worked for many advertising and publishing companies, and her art has been exhibited around the world.

Editor: Nick Pierce

Why monkeys live in trees and Other Stories of the Great Outdoors

Written by John Townsend

Illustrated by Martina Peluso

SALARIYA

Br i lliant Books Make Br illiant Chi ldren

contents page introduction 5 Why monkeys live in trees 7 How the tiger got her stripes 18 Why the koala has no tail 30 The lion and the hare 41 How the chipmunk got her stripes 56 The hyena’s last laugh 67 The mouse deer and the tiger 78 When the polar bears danced 89

Introduction

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he big, wild world is not only home to all kinds of amazing animals, but also to their tantalising tales.

Animal stories of the great outdoors have been told over generations, often around campfires in the dead of night. Many cultures throughout the world have used the wildlife around them in their rich heritage of storytelling. Whether set in the jungles, wildernesses, plains or mountains of Africa, America, Asia or Australia, the stories in this book go back a long way — now retold with new twists and turns for the bedtimes of today.

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Stories, so they say, are what make us human.

Often created by people living very close to nature, folktales were simple stories passed on by word of mouth. Over hundreds of years of re-tellings, with each storyteller adding different touches, the tales have often changed and adapted as people travel to new lands. Be they legends, fables, jokes, tall stories or magical adventures, many folktales involve animals of all kinds — more often than not living in wild natural landscapes.

Like many stories, those in this book contain elements of truth, conflict and sometimes danger. It seems only right, then, to finish with an Arctic story, pointing to the challenge of our age, with many animals already affected by climate change.

So, all that remains is to turn the page and enter the great outdoors, where all sorts of animals are waiting as you step into another enchantingly wild world.

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WHY MONKEYS LIVE IN TREES

Why Monkeys Live In Trees

T

here was a time when all the animals in the jungle were the best of friends. Everyone loved the monkeys, who were among the cleverest of all. They spent much of their time playing games down by the river and never went near trees at all. Their feet were always firmly on the ground. The lion, the king of the jungle, would sometimes ask for the monkeys’ advice on matters of importance.

‘I need to go away for a few days,’ he told the oldest, wisest monkey one morning. ‘Who shall I ask to be king while I am gone?’

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ANIMAL STORIES FOR BEDTIME

‘Hmmm,’ thought the monkey. ‘Why not hold a contest to see which animal does best?’

‘Splendid idea,’ said the lion, and he called everyone in the jungle together to explain what would happen.

WHY MONKEYS LIVE IN TREES

‘While I am away, one of you must be in charge. If you wish to do the job, you must first prove to me who is the best at keeping a cool head and a calm tongue if things get heated.’

‘That sounds like a fair plan,’ said the elephant.

‘What must each of us do to help you decide?’

‘I have a challenge for each of you,’ the lion announced. He stood beside a large pile of black dust, as big as himself. ‘Whoever can eat this entire pile will be king of the jungle while I am away. Who would like to try first?’

The hippopotamus stepped forward. ‘As the one with the biggest mouth around here, I could soon gulp down that pile of dust. No problem.

I’m used to eating whopping heaps of grass every day, so it’ll be a doddle.’

‘In that case,’ the lion smiled, ‘I will let hippo go first and wish you the best of luck.’

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ANIMAL STORIES FOR BEDTIME

All the animals watched the hippo waddle over to the pile; waddle, wobble, waddle, wobble, waddle, wobble. They all thought he was sure to win, being so large and with an enormous mouth that opened very wide. Like a bulldozer with a giant shovel in front, the hippo pushed his gaping jaws into the pile. With one massive scoop, he lifted his jaws, threw his head back and gulped down a dribbly dollop. Suddenly he puffed, snorted, spluttered and wheezed, coughing out a billowing cloud of dust. ‘Woweekazowie!’ he panted. ‘That’s p-p-pepper!’

With that, he turned and ran as fast as he could and plunged into the river in a bubbling hiss of steam. From that day on, hippopotamuses have always lived in water and remain the grumpiest of animals. Maybe they still have fiery throats and bad tempers from losing the contest to be king of the jungle?

‘Unlucky, hippo,’ said the lion. ‘Who would like to try next?’

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WHY MONKEYS LIVE IN TREES

‘Obviously it should be me,’ grinned the crocodile. ‘After all, I’ve also got a big mouth that opens wide but my lips are much tougher than hippo’s, so a bit of pepper won’t bother me.’

‘In that case,’ the lion smiled, ‘I will let crocodile go next and wish you the best of luck.’

All the animals watched the crocodile waddle over to the pile of pepper; waddle, wriggle, waddle, wriggle, waddle, wriggle. They all thought he was sure to win, with his thick, scaly skin and a mouth as tough as hobnail boots.

Like a digging machine, the crocodile pushed his gaping jaws into the pile. He scooped up a heap of pepper, threw his head back and gulped down a dribbly dollop. As his eyes rolled and his tail thrashed, he seemed to grin like never before.

Suddenly he puffed, snorted, spluttered and wheezed, coughing out a billowing cloud of dust.

‘Wowee-kazowie!’ he panted. ‘That’s p-p-pepper with a p-p-powerful p-p-punch!’

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ANIMAL STORIES FOR BEDTIME

With that, the crocodile ran as fast as he could and plunged into the river in a bubbling hiss of steam. From that day on, crocodiles have always lived in water and take out their revenge on any poor creature that tries to come near. Maybe they still have such fiery throats that they try to cool them by resting in the mud with their jaws wide open?

‘Unlucky, croc,’ said the lion. ‘Well, it looks as if no one has won the challenge,’ the lion

WHY MONKEYS LIVE IN TREES

announced. ‘No one has managed to eat all of the pepper pile, so I’m afraid that no one can become my replacement.’

‘Er, excuse me,’ said a monkey, raising an arm.

‘Can I ask a question?’

‘By all means,’ said the lion, ‘but I’m afraid a small monkey would never be able to eat all that pepper. Impossible.’

‘Well, all I want to ask,’ the monkey continued, ‘is if I could eat the pepper in little bursts? Could I take lots of little bites with short breaks in between? You never said anything about eating the whole pile all in one go.’

The lion pondered. ‘Hmm. I suppose I can allow you to do the task in small stages.’

The monkey smiled, skipped over to the pepper, stretched out a hand and grabbed a clump.

After one small bite, a splutter and a sneeze, 13