Shirley The Monkey And The Magic Bananas

by Jeffrey Wesley Landmon

Shirley The Monkey And The Magic Bananas

  Jw Landmon

  © 01-10-09

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law, or in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  LpJ Publishing Enterprises

  July 2016

  All rights reserved

  A Child’s Fable:

  Dedicated to ALL little children, whose innocence and truthfulness reflect the face of God Himself.

  Table Of Contents

  Shirley The Monkey And The Magic Bananas

  About The Author

  Other Stories By This Author

  Acknowledgements

  ~1~

  Shirley The Monkey And The Magic Bananas

  As the truck left the curb, it ran over a mailbox and sideswiped two cars. The young monkey’s feet could hardly reach the pedals, but she was determined to get this load of bananas back to her hideout. Rounding the corner on Tenth Street, she headed straight down Pacific Highway - which was a wide enough road to accommodate her limited driving skills.

  She opened the truck’s glass panel, and reached back to grab a banana bunch. Just as she was about to consume the first delicious morsel, she remembered why she came to the city in the first place. That crazy man swinging around in the trees yelling that ridiculous call was a nuisance. None of the animals could stand him. She had to get away. She actually thought he was really just a lunatic in loincloth. And for goodness sake, even she could communicate better than him!

  Just as she was about to enjoy her first bike of the Nana, out of nowhere a large chicken crossed the road, right in front of her. She hit the brakes and swerved left, running the truck into a large patch of dry bushes. She jumped out of the truck and turned just in time to see the chicken - whose name was Q - jump into the back of the truck.

  He grabbed two bananas so fast that he left a few feathers flying, then bam! He was down off the truck in no time and heading down the road.

  “Come back here, you skinny-legged cackler!” she screamed. Q moved away quickly in guilt. Shirley, with her strong legs and long long arms, was able to catch him. She grabbed him about the throat and asked, “What is the meaning of this?”

  “Why, whatever do you mean?” cackled Q.

  “Don’t play dumb with me!” yelled Shirley, her anger growing rapidly. “You stole my bananas.”

  “Well, you stole the truck.” he laughed. “Two wrongs don’t make a right, what goes around comes around.”

  Tightening her grip around his throat, she said, “Oh yeah? Well, does a dead chicken make a right?”

  “I am not a chicken, you silly ape! I am a rooster.”

  “Don’t change the subject, you dumb bird.”

  “Life is not good without change, my dear friend,” he insisted.

  Just then, the dry bushes gave way; Shirley had not engaged the parking brake. The old red and yellow truck began rolling down the slope on which it had stopped.

  ~2~

  Shirley released her grip on Q when she saw the truck rolling out of control downhill, her mind totally enthralled by the thought of losing those bananas! As she followed the pickup, she could only think of her parents’ disappointment at her behavior. She was a good monkey, who had been taught to love everyone and to put no worth in worldly possessions. Yet here she was, chasing a truck full of bananas, and angry at a rooster!

  The truck moved down the hill with increasing speed. It took her breath away when she saw it plunge into the pond. She jumped into the cab of the truck just before it began to sink but, it was too late. Her precious bananas were seemingly lost!

  ~3~

  Shirley jumped back onto the shore.

  “Are you alright?” Q asked, looking sad and guilty.

  “This is all your fault!” said Shirley. “All your fault! And you can’t even swim. What am I going to do?”

  “Let’s be reasonable now Shirley, you would never have been able to eat all those bananas before they rotted.”

  Then, a happy but slow speaking voice came from behind some bushes. “I could get those bananas out of the water for ya.”

  Looking over, Shirley and Q saw a large turtle sitting there.

  “The name’s Melvin,” he said. “Pleased to meet you. I could swim out there and drag them bananas back here to shore for you.”

  “Yeah,” said Q, laughing. “It would take you all day, you’re so darn slow.”

  “Shut up, Q!” Shirley said. Turning her attention to Melvin, she asked, “You would do that for me?”

  “Sure,” Melvin said. “Despite what that dumb chicken said, I can actually move pretty quickly in the water. I bet I could drag the whole truckload back here to the shore within a couple of hours.”

  “I’m not a chicken, I’m a roster,” Q began.

  “You’re a nuisance, is what you are!” Shirley yelled. “Thank you, Melvin. I would greatly appreciate it. But, what’s in it for you?”

  “I just like helping out,” Melvin said. “It’s good to help out your fellow creatures, at least that’s what I was taught. I’ll get started right away.”

  Melvin left the shore and took off at top turtle speed into the water to begin the task.

  Shirley turned back to Q...

  ~4~

  “Please don’t hurt me, Shirley! I’m really, really sorry! It’s just that I’m so hungry, and those bananas looked so good.”

  “You’re darn right they’re good, Q. I only pick the best. I’m not gonna stay mad at you. I too know what it’s like to feel hunger.”

  “Thank you,” Q said with a relief. “I thought you were going to kill me.” He moved right up to her now and rubbed his head against her long arm.

  “Alright...let’s not get carried away now. I said I ain’t mad no more but, I didn’t say that you should start getting all lovey-dovey on me.” They both sat down on the shore and looked out at the water.

  “Here ya go,” said Melvin, his head popping up out of the murky water with three whole bunches of bananas held by their stems in his mouth. “So where you from?” Melvin asked.

  “I’m from a place known as,” Q began proudly.

  “I’m not talking to you, you dumb chicken!” Melvin snapped.

  Laughing, Shirley said, “He’s not a chicken, he’s a rooster.”

  A large tear rolled down from Q’s face now, as he blushed and brushed up against her again. Then suddenly, with a giant swoosh; the tail end of the truck broke the surface of the water, and began moving towards the shore. Large bubbles formed on top of the water, as a large area beneath the surface grew muddy and busy. Q jumped up and ran further back onto the shoreline. Shirley stood next to Melvin with her mouth hanging open.

  “Oh, I was just gonna tell ya,” Melvin said happily. “I ran into a friend of mine down there who offered to help.”

  As the truck was, somehow, being pushed onto the shore, water began to run off its cab, revealing its precious cargo of bananas. The back wheels came onto shore, then the back window could be seen. Finally, the truck’s front end could be seen leaving the water.

  A very large - huge even - Hippopotamus was there, with his head down, shoving the truck almost effortlessly.

  With a
few loud grunts, and putting all of his 4000 pound body into it, the hippo pushed it all the way out of the water and up onto the shore. The hippo then placed his body to the side of the truck and pushed it sideways so that it wouldn’t roll back in. Water ran out of the truck and saturated the ground.

  “Is this what you wanted?” the hippo asked.

  “Yeah Franky,” Melvin happily replied. “Thanks a lot. This here is Shirley. Shirley, this is my friend Franky, ain’t he a biggie?”

  “He’s beautiful!” Shirley exclaimed. “Hi and thank you so much. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Franky half snorted out.

  “Hi! My name is Q,” the bird began, but was interrupted by Shirley and Melvin, who said laughing in unison;

  “He’s not a chicken, he’s a rooster.”

  ~5~

  As the new friends sat on the shore exchanging pleasantries, storm clouds began to form off in the distance.

  “What now?” Melvin asked.

  “There’s a barn not too far down the road,” Q said.

  “It’s on an abandoned farm. I saw a wagon there that we could load the bananas on. If Franky would be willing to help us?”

  “It would be my pleasure!” Franky burped.

  “Alright then!” Shirley said excitedly. “Let’s go!”

  “Well ah, I think I should stay here and guard the bananas...” Melvin said.

  “Yeah, because he’s too fat and slow,” Q began; before he felt Shirley’s hand around his throat once again.

  “I’ve had just about enough out of you.” she spoke sharply.

  “I ..I....I just meant...” Q said, frightened.

  “Never mind what you meant, Q!” Shirley yelled out. “Now, Melvin?” Shirley spoke more kindly, “I was wondering if anyone would be brave enough to stand guard. You are such a wonderful friend. Thank you so much!”

  “No problem,” Melvin said, sticking his head all the way out of his shell now and stretching it upward proudly. Then he turned and stuck his tongue out at Q in a spiteful yet victorious manner.

  As Shirley, Q, and Franky began to head for the barn, and Melvin assumed his guard position by the truck with Shirley’s bananas, the gray clouds were coming together in the sky, like puzzle pieces. Seemingly out of place was a very, very large white cloud with a glow all about it. And sitting right beneath it was a duplicate cloud of white, only smaller. Up on the road now, Franky said, “You know, for a big guy I can move pretty quickly. Shirley? Why don’t you grab Q and hop up onto my back? I’ll get us there quickly.”

  “Great idea!” Q said, rubbing his feet as if they were tired already. As Franky began to kneel down so they could mount him, there came a tiny, terrified scream from the road below.

  “Hey, hey, hey watch it! I got rights too you know!”

  “Oh, sorry little buddy,” Franky said, looking down at a cricket who had just woke up and come out to sing some songs.

  “Ah, it’s alright,” said the cricket. “Nobody ever sees me. It’s like I’m invisible. Why do you think I make so much noise all the time? I don’t have any friends round here, my family is way back in the corn field, and I never get to do anything.”

  “Hey,” Shirley said. “We are going on a trip down the road. It sure would be nice to have some music!”

  “Yeah,” Franky said, “I really like your song!”

  “It’s repetitive and annoying...” Q began to say, but then he received a hard glance from Shirley, and changed it up, saying; “Ah...truly anointed musician you are, little buddy. Truly.”

  Shirley then picked Q up and placed him on Franky’s back. She gently picked up Tina the cricket and sat her on the center of Frankie’s head. Then she hopped up herself, behind Q.

  “Now, sing your song please, Tina,” she said. And off they went!

  ~6~

  As they arrived at the farm, Shirley could see the barn, just down a overgrown dirt road.

  “See? I told ya!” Q boasted.

  “Yeah, great,” Shirley said. “Now where’s this wagon?”

  “It’s inside the barn,” Q nodded. Franky gave the double barn doors a push, and sure enough, there in the center of the barn sat an old beat up wagon. Shirley jumped down and lifted Q off as well.

  “You rest now, Franky,” she said. “I can’t believe how fast you were moving.”

  Q looked as though he wanted to make a comment but, thought better of it.

  Shirley walked up to the wagon and began examining its wheels. “They’re in pretty good shape!” she exclaimed. Looking around, she spotted a rope. “Would you bring that over here, please Q?” She asked politely after pointing at it. He went over and found two ropes laying in the hay. He grabbed the smaller, weaker looking one and proceeded with it towards Shirley. She shook her head and walked over and grabbed the longer and stronger rope. “Can’t you do anything right?” she asked, looking at Q with a frown. She began to tie the rope to the front end of the wagon. “What do you think?” she asked Franky.

  “Looks good. Keep it tied together in the center, and put it over my shoulders and around my neck.”

  “Around your neck?” Shirley exclaimed.

  “Yeah, yeah it’s alright. My neck is one of the strongest parts of my body.” Shirley made sure the knots were tight on the wagon, and then slung the ropes around Franky’s neck and shoulders as she was told.

  “This ought to be interesting,” said Q.

  “Yeah, it oughta be,” Shirley agreed. “And you know what the best part about it is?” Shirley asked.

  “No, what?” Q cackled.

  “You can ride in the wagon.”

  “What a relief!” Franky belched.

  “Hey, what about me?” said Tina.

  “I think it best you ride with Franky and me, little one. Who knows what would happen to you in Q’s care?”

  “Are we ready then?” Franky asked.

  “We’re good,” said Shirley the monkey.

  Franky gave a little test pull. “No problem.” And they were off, heading back to Melvin and the truck with Shirley’s banana load. Tina began to sing her song. Q frowned and covered his ears.

  ~7~

  As they began their return, the rain began to come down. Slowly at first, and then a real downpour. Q covered himself up in the wagon with some dirty old hay.

  “Tina,” Franky said. “You climb down and get under my earflap.”

  “I couldn’t do that,” she said.

  “Of course you can,” Franky insisted. “Little ones like you are always having fun in my ears. Just don’t sing while you’re there.”

  “Ok, thanks!” She said. Tina then - with Shirley’s help - climbed into Franky’s ear, and he flipped down the top of it.

  “What about you, Shirley? You OK?” Franky inquired.

  “I’m pretty soaked,” she said. “But I’ll survive. It’s you that I’m worried about.”

  Franky belted out a large round of laughter. “You must be kidding, Shirley. I think me and Melvin are use to being wet by now.”

  “Oh yeah!” said Shirley.

  They both laughed.

  Suddenly, there came much thunder and then the lightning. “Uh-oh,” Franky said. “We can’t stay out here with those lightning bolts shooting around.”

  “Over here, over here!” a voice called out. They all looked to see two big Maple Trees side by side, their branches intertwined at the top. “Come over here, we’ll protect you.”

  Franky maneuvered the wagon off the road and over beneath the trees.

  “There ya go,” the tallest one said.

  ”What’s your name?” Shirley asked.

  “My name is Papi, and this is my wife, Mami,” said the larger, stronger tree.

  “Stay with us till the storm passes. We will protect you.”

  “Wow, I can’t feel a drop of rain under here!” Shirley exclaimed.

  “Me neither,” said Franky.

  Tina the crick
et popped her head out from her safe waterproof covering that was Franky the Hippo’s ear, and crawled onto Shirley’s hand. Shirley then put her on her own hairy shoulder. Q came out from beneath the hay.

  “Are we there yet?” he yawned.

  “Not yet, chicken” Tina said.

  “He’s not a chicken, he’s a rooster!” Franky and Shirley said, laughing hysterically.

  ~8~

  The rain stopped. Melvin looked at the banana truck that had begun slipping now in the mud since all the rain.

  “They better hurry,” he thought to himself. As he looked up to the sky, he was amazed at the two white clouds that had seemed to be moving in the same direction that Shirley and the gang had taken, but were now heading back in the same return direction. When the lightning had started, Melvin had noticed the larger white cloud rise above the gray clouds, while the smaller white cloud stood still, over the tops of two very tall Maple Trees, not far down the road. He could hear the wagon now, and the huff of Franky’s snort. As they got even closer, he now heard Tina singing her song, and Q cackling away about something. Then Franky rounded the trail with the wagon.

  “It’s about time.” Q said sarcastically. “I could have grown my own banana tree by now.” He hopped off the wagon and made his way towards the bananas. “I’m starving!” he said.

  “I sure didn’t stand guard here all this time just to watch you eat the very first one!” Melvin snapped.

  “Now now boys,” Shirley said. “It doesn’t look like this rain is done yet. What say we get these bananas out of the truck and onto the wagon? We can take them back to that barn and have a feast!”

  “Sounds good to me,” Franky said.

  “Yeah, like there’ll be anything left after you’re done...” Q spoke rudely.

  “That’s it!” Shirley said, grabbing him by his feet and hanging him upside down. She walked to the pond and began lowering his head into the water.

  “No, no!” Tina screamed. “Don’t do it, don’t do it!”

  “Yeah Shirley, he ain’t worth it.” Franky said. “Shirley, it’s alright. I’m used to his kind. Let him go.”

  Shirley gave Q a good shaking about, and tossed him into some bushes. “Not another word,” she said. “Get in the wagon and stay there.”

  “But, I can help with the...” They all gave him a look. He then immediately got back in the wagon, sat down and shut up, finally.

  “What’s wrong, little one?” Franky asked Tina, who had tears in her eyes.