The Monkey's Tower
SNNPR
A Male Story
Before you read the story
- Are there any baboons or monkeys near where you live?
- Do you like to watch them?
- Do you see baboons and monkeys play together, or look for food together?
Now read the story
In the old days, the baboons and the monkeys were the same. Their faces and hands and colour were all the same. Only one thing was different. The baboons were bigger than the monkeys.
The baboons and the monkeys were friends. They lived together, and ate the same food. They played, and talked, and slept together.
One day, an old monkey said, "Listen, my brothers. Why do we live here, on the ground? Look up at the sky. Isn't it beautiful? Why don't we go up to the sky? Perhaps we will find another country there."
The others laughed at him.
"How can we do that?" they said.
"Let's build a tower," the monkey said.
"A tower? How can we do that?" asked the other monkeys and baboons.
"We can do it with our bodies," the old monkey said. "There are many of us. We can climb on to each other, and sit on each other's shoulders. We will soon reach the sky."
The others agreed.
"The baboons are bigger than the monkeys," said the old monkey, "so they must go at the bottom of the tower."
And so the baboons began to make a tower. They climbed on each other's shoulders, one by one. There were many baboons, and soon the tower was high.
"It's your turn now," they said to the monkeys. "Climb up on us. We'll soon reach the sky."
The biggest baboon was at the bottom of the pile. A naughty little monkey was looking at him.
"That big baboon chases me sometimes," he thought. "But he can't move now. I'm going to punish him!"
And he pushed his finger into the big baboon's bottom.
"Aaghh!" shouted the big baboon. "Stop it! Don't do that!"
He began to jump around. At once, all the other baboons fell down to the ground. They were very angry.
"You wicked monkeys!" they said. "We'll punish you for this!"
The monkeys were very frightened. They ran into the forest. The baboons ran after them.
"Oh God," the monkeys prayed. "The baboons are going to kill us! What can we do? Please, God, help us!"
God heard the monkeys.
"Don't be frightened," he said to them. "I will change you. The baboons will not know you now."
He gave the monkeys white hair above their eyes.
Soon, the baboons arrived.
"Who are these animals?" they said. "They are not monkeys. Where have the monkeys gone?"
The monkeys were happy.
"Now the baboons don't know us," they thought, "but we know them. We can run away from them now and they can't catch us."
God heard them.
"The monkeys are frightened of the baboons," he thought, "but fear is a bad thing. I will change the baboons too. Then the monkeys will not know them, and they will not fear them. They will not be together any more, but they will live in peace."
So God made the baboons' tails shorter, and made their bottoms red. The monkeys did not know the baboons any more, and the baboons did not know the monkeys. And so they learned to live in peace.
Exercises
A. How much did you understand?
At the beginning of this story, the monkeys and the baboons decide to make a tower.
Put these sentences in the right order.
- “Look up at the sky. Isn't it beautiful?”
- The baboons and the monkeys were friends.
- “We can climb on to each other, and sit on each other's shoulders.”
In the second part of the story, the baboons make a tower with their bodies.
Put these sentences in the right order.
- The biggest baboon was at the bottom of the pile.
- At once, all the other baboons fell down to the ground.
- And he pushed his finger into the big baboon's bottom.
In the third part of the story, God makes the baboons and the monkeys look different from each other.
Put these sentences in the right order.
- So God made the baboons’ tails shorter, and made their bottoms red.
- And so they learned to live in peace.
- He gave the monkeys white hair above their eyes.
B. THE SAME and DIFFERENT FROM
THE SAME and DIFFERENT FROM are words we use to compare one thing with another. Fill the gaps in these sentences with the same or different from.
- In the old days, the baboons and the monkeys were ……
- The faces and hands of the baboons and the monkeys were ……
- The baboons were ...... the monkeys, because they were bigger.
- God gave the monkeys white hair above their eyes to make them …… the baboons.
- God made the baboons’ tails shorter, so that they were not …… as the monkeys.
- The baboons and the monkeys live in peace because they are …… each other.
C. Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe things. There are many adjectives in this story. Fill the gaps in these sentences with adjectives from the list below.
- The old monkey wanted to reach the sky because he thought it was ……
- The baboons climbed on top of each other, and made a …… tower.
- A …… baboon was at the bottom of the pile.
- One …… little monkey pushed his finger into the big baboon's bottom.
- The …… monkeys ran into the forest.
- God gave the monkeys …… hair above their eyes.
- He gave the baboons …… bottoms.
naughty, red, frightened, white, big, high, beautiful
D. Other stories
Do you know any other stories like this one? Ask any old people that you know to tell you stories about how things began when the world was young. Write them down to make a collection. Click on these links to read other stories like this.
Teachers’ answer key
A. How much did you understand?
The right order of these sentences is 2, 1, 3
The baboons and the monkeys were friends.
“Look up at the sky. Isn't it beautiful?”
“We can climb on to each other, and sit on each other's shoulders.”
The right order of these sentences is 1, 3, 2
The biggest baboon was at the bottom of the pile.
And he pushed his finger into the big baboon's bottom.
At once, all the other baboons fell down to the ground.
The right order of these sentences is 3, 1, 2
He gave the monkeys white hair above their eyes.
God made the baboons’ tales shorter, and made their bottoms red.
And so they learned to live in peace.
B. THE SAME and DIFFERENT FROM
- In the old days, the baboons and the monkeys were the same.
- The faces and hands of the baboons and the monkeys were the same.
- The baboons were different from the monkeys, because they were bigger.
- God gave the monkeys white hair above their eyes to make them different from the baboons.
- God made the baboons’ tails shorter so that they were not the same as the monkeys.
- The baboons and the monkeys live in peace because they are different from each other.
C. Adjectives
- The old monkey wanted to reach the sky because he thought it was beautiful.
- The baboons climbed on top of each other, and made a high tower.
- A big baboon was at the bottom of the pile.
- One naughty little monkey pushed his finger into the big baboon's bottom.
- The frightened monkeys ran into the forest.
- God gave the monkeys white hair above their eyes.
- He gave the baboons red bottoms.
For teachers — answers to the exercises above.