Lesson 34 The Monkey

Oh, do come and see, boys, said Norah. "Here's a man with a monkey. It is such a funny, little creature, and is playing such funny tricks."

Off they all ran in a moment, and for a long time amused themselves by watching the antics of the strange, little animal. When he had gone away and the children were back again, Fred said, "That monkey, I think, will be the best thing for us to talk about to-night, while he is fresh in our minds.

Now what did you think the strangest thing about the monkey, Norah?

Why, he seemed to have no feet, said Norah. "His feet looked just like his hands."

And quite right, too, said Fred. "His feet are hands. He has four hands. We call monkeys four-handed animals.

You know your own hand has four fingers and a thumb. If you take hold of a stick and grasp it, you will see how useful the thumb is. You could not grasp the stick if you had no thumb. You could not do it with your foot.

That monkey, too, seemed to have very long arms, said Norah. "They reached nearly to the ground."

Yes, said Willie, "teacher says all monkeys have very long arms. Did you notice, Norah, he never stood quite upright? When he was on the ground he did not seem happy. He looked very awkward as he moved along. He was always stooping. He seemed to be using his long arms to support himself."

The truth is, said Fred, "monkeys are quite out of place on the ground. Their proper home is in the trees. Their four hands are made for grasping the branches. Their long arms help them to swing themselves from one branch to another. Although they are so awkward on the ground, they are very sharp and nimble in the trees. They climb and spring from bough to bough, and are quite at home there.

Monkeys are not found wild in this country, but in some parts of the world they are as numerous as rabbits are here. They live in the dense woods and forests of the hottest countries of the world. Their home is in the trees, and they feed chiefly on fruits and nuts.

SUMMARY

Monkeys have four hands. They are meant to live in the trees. Their arms are very long, to help them to swing from branch to branch. They have hands instead of feet, to grasp the branches.