DON’T ADVISE A MONKEY
Pic.: Amrita Jeurkar
Years
ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the
things I did – and found very effective – was telling a nice story in two
tenses… the Present and the Past. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of
people, who were earnest about improving their English, with the same method…
Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and, then, tell it to someone…
There is this little bird in all of us… and, there is
this familiar ‘bird-experience’, too… I
simply love this story…
DON’T ADVISE A
MONKEY
PAST:
It was a cold night. In a jungle, a monkey was jumping
around some red seeds, crying, “Ouch, it is very cold! Ouch, it is very cold!”
He was warming himself mistaking those red seeds to be balls of fire!
From a nearby tree, a little bird saw what the monkey was
doing. She said, “My friend, those are not balls of fire… they are just red
seeds of our jungle.”
“Shut up, you silly bird,” the monkey yelled, “Mind your
own business.” He continued to jump around the seeds, screaming, “Ouch, it is
very cold! Ouch, it is very cold!”
The little bird felt sorry for the monkey. She tried to
explain to him, once again, “My friend, I am telling you, they are not fire
balls… they are our jungle seeds.”
“I have warned you once, and I am warning you again,” the
monkey blasted out, “get off my way, you dumb bird!” Then, he continued to warm
himself, jumping and shouting, “Ouch, it is very cold! Ouch, it is very cold!”
The bird
couldn’t see it, any more. She came down from the tree, sat close to the monkey
and pleaded, “Believe me, my friend, they are not balls of fire… They are just
red seeds from our jungle.”
“This is
the last warning I am giving you,” the monkey breathed out fire, “You better
leave me alone before it is too late.” Then, he went on jumping and crying,
“Ouch, it is very cold… Ouch, it is very cold!”
“I can
show you, my friend, that they are just our jungle seeds,” the little bird
bent down to pick up the seeds…
“Go to
hell, you dumb idiot,” the monkey grabbed the delicate bird by her neck, “this
is what you deserve for being so stupid.” He started smashing the tiny bird
hard on the ground... till she was torn into a thousand pieces!
PRESENT:
It is a cold night. In a jungle, a monkey is jumping
around some red seeds, crying, “Ouch, it is very cold! Ouch, it is very cold!”
He is warming himself mistaking those red seeds to be balls of fire!
From a nearby tree, a little bird sees what the monkey is
doing. She says, “My friend, those are not balls of fire… they are just red
seeds of our jungle.”
“Shut up, you silly bird,” the monkey yells, “Mind your
own business.” He continues to jump around the seeds, screaming, “Ouch, it is
very cold! Ouch, it is very cold!”
The little bird feels sorry for the monkey. She tries to
explain to him, once again, “My friend, I am telling you, they are not fire
balls… they are our jungle seeds.”
“I have warned you once, and I am warning you again,” the
monkey blasts out, “get off my way, you dumb bird!” Then, he continues to warm
himself, jumping and shouting, “Ouch, it is very cold! Ouch, it is very cold!”
The bird
cannot see it, any more. She comes down from the tree, sits close to the monkey
and pleads, “Believe me, my friend, they are not balls of fire… They are just
red seeds from our jungle.”
“This is
the last warning I am giving you,” the monkey breaths out fire, “You better
leave me alone before it is too late.” Then, he goes on jumping and crying,
“Ouch, it is very cold… Ouch, it is very cold!”
“I can
show you, my friend, that they are just our jungle seeds,” the little bird
bends down to pick up the seeds…
“Go to
hell, you dumb idiot,” the monkey grabs the delicate bird by her neck, “this is
what you deserve for being so stupid.” He starts smashing the tiny bird hard on
the ground... till she is torn into a thousand pieces!
GERALD
D’CUNHA
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