Do you like to go to the zoo and watch the monkeys play? Have you seen a monkey up close? They are so cute. There are so many variations. Some are large, some small. There are black, brown, white, grey, and even orange ones! I like ring tailed lemur, spider, squirrel, and capuchin monkeys the best.
Chimpanzee
monkeys are very smart and you can train them. There are three chimpanzee
monkeys that are famous. They are called “see no evil, hear no evil and speak
no evil” and you can see them in this picture.
That is silly and true at the same time. We should see, hear, and speak no evil! Evil things are bad things.
Rio is a white faced
capuchin monkey. Capuchin monkeys grow to be between 12 and 22 inches long.
That is a little bigger than your dad or grandfather’s foot. They like to eat
fruit, bugs, leaves, small birds, frogs, and nuts.
Rio loved his jungle home in South America. His brothers Cid, Carlos, and Fernando and his sisters Dina and Idola also love their jungle home. They loved to jump from branch to branch and tree top to tree top. They would chase or throw nuts and twigs at each other. They were always playing until Rio got mad.
Rio loved his jungle home in South America. His brothers Cid, Carlos, and Fernando and his sisters Dina and Idola also love their jungle home. They loved to jump from branch to branch and tree top to tree top. They would chase or throw nuts and twigs at each other. They were always playing until Rio got mad.
Rio has an issue. He
has a hot temper. A temper is strong anger. One minute he could be laughing and
playing, then the next—watch out! He is angry! It is scary! When this happens, Cid, Carlos, Fernando, Dina and Idola swing and jump away as fast as they
can!
When Rio gets mad, it's best to stay
back because he not only looks scary, but he throws things or shoves others. He has
been known to throw rocks! Oh my!
Rio’s parents have
talked to him and punished him about his anger. He just won’t listen. He thinks
he is justified in his actions. Feeling justified means he thinks he has a right to get angry when someone does something to him. He thinks he has a reason to be angry. He
feels he has a cause and can act that way because they did something to him. This
is not so. We should not get angry with others, and if we do we should never
say or do anything mean.
Rio’s brothers and
sisters like to be around him when he is happy and in a good mood because he
can be fun. However, when he gets mad, they don’t
want to have anything to do with him. He gets mad so easily. If he loses at a
game he gets mad. He gets mad if he
doesn’t get as much as someone else. When he goes to his favorite spot to sleep
in and it is taken he gets angry. Anything could make him mad. When his temper
flares his face gets red, his nostrils flare and he bares his teeth, looking like he is going to bite!
Once, they had been
having a great day playing, and no one getting upset, even Rio. All of a sudden
it started to rain. Rain was pouring out of the sky. Thunder was crashing and
lightning was lighting up the sky. Streams were being created out of the
sheer volume of water. The streams were flowing down to the river making it run
faster and faster. Soon it was overflowing its banks. The branches they had
been playing on were getting slippery. There was no shelter because no leaf
could protect them. Everyone wanted to get out of the rain, except for Rio. He
wanted to keep playing. Fernando said they should go home under the big
overhang and watch the rain from there.
Slowly, Rio followed
his siblings. When he got to the big overhang everyone was sitting and watching
the raging storm. An overhang is where the mountain has a cave and in front of
the cave is a ledge and the top part is like a roof over the ledge. The
overhang is the roof over the ledge.
Rio said he didn’t want
to watch the rain. He wanted to play in it. He had been having so much fun and
he didn’t think a little rain should stop him. He was getting angry and
everyone knew it. He wanted his sibling to go out and play too. He was glaring
at them daring anyone to disagree with his plea. Fernando said they should all
stay there because the storm was bad. Rio looked like he was going to do
something mean so Cid said he would go out with him then Dina said she would go
too. Rio was glaring at Fernando, so Cid pulled on Rios arm until he turned and
went out into the storm.
Off they went into the
fierce rain. Fernando hollered at them to be careful, but they couldn’t hear
over the torrent of rain hitting the mountain. The rest of the monkeys huddled
together, worried that their siblings might get hurt. They knew why Cid and Dina
went with Rio. Cid and Dina didn’t want Rio to get angrier because they were
afraid of him.
After a few moments
their parent came. The parents were glad the little monkeys were out of the
rain. Then they realized three were not there. When Fernando explained what
happened, the parents sighed and looked out at the rain. The rain was so thick
they could hardly see the trees that were only a few feet away. They knew they
would never be able to find their monkeys had they ventured out. It was getting
worse out there. A waterfall had started at one end of the overhang making it
even louder. When these rains start they can last for hours or even days. After
a few hours and no sign of them their parents got very worried.
Meanwhile Rio, Cid, and
Idola were trying to run around. Rio was egging them on but Idola was moving
slowly because she was afraid of slipping. Rio was getting upset with her for
being what he called a baby. Cid was trying to reason with Rio and said she was
trying to play but it was slippery. In anger Rio pushed Cid. Cid slipped off
the tree and landed on the one next to them where Idola had just landed. They
both slipped off that branch, landing on another. Cid was able to hang on by
using all four legs and his tail but not Idola. She slipped again and fell down
with a splash into the roaring river! With the rain coming down in sheets and
the water moving so fast she disappeared and Cid and Rio couldn’t see where she went.
The two of them ran down to the water’s edge but couldn’t get too close because
the bank was so slimy with mud. Cid kept calling Idola’s name.
Cid and Rio followed
the river looking and calling her name. They looked for hours. When the rain
finally stopped it had gotten dark. Even though the rain had stopped it was
too dark to see. Sadly, the boys went home to tell their parents.
The next morning, even
before first light, they started looking for Idola. Some went from tree to tree
and some went as close to the river as they dared. Fernando and Carlos went close to the river slipping, sliding, and almost falling into the
river. They hardly recognized each other because they were covered in mud. It
was hard for them to walk because the mud sucked them down.
Rio was looking too. He
had overheard Cid explain to their family what had happened. Rio had gotten mad
and had stomped away to sit by himself last night. Now, he was afraid he might
never see his sister again. He loved his sister and he was getting scared. He
was also remembering what happened and feeling guilty for what he had done. He
finally admitted to himself he had caused it all to happen by pushing Cid who
then fell into Idola causing her fall. It was his fault! He was upset so he
started to run and jump into trees swinging and running from tree to tree
through the jungle. He was angry but this time at himself. At last he used up
all his steam and came to a stop out of breath. He sat and put his head into
his hands and cried. He had been terrible to everyone! He was out of control!
He needed to change. He wanted to be kind and a good brother and son.
Soon his tears were
spent. He wiped his eyes and stood. Looking around to see where he was, he
realized he didn’t recognize anything. He didn’t know where he was. He had
never been this far away before. He was still close to the river but that was
all he knew. Looking down on the river, which was much calmer today, he saw
where tree branches had been shoved up and onto rocks. The mighty river had
taken trees down with it and some were lodged against the big boulders and
rocks. Something in that tangled mess caught his eye. Could it be Idola?
Swing from tree to tree
he got closer to have a better look. Sure enough it was her! She lie in a
heap of fur. He didn’t know how to get to her for she was out in the river to
far from shore. The river was still stronger than Rio and he was afraid he
would be swept away and then who would help her? Looking all around, he noticed
the branch that over hung the river quite a way out. Maybe it was over her and he
could reach her from there. When he got onto the branch he realized it was far
too high to reach her. He could look down many feet to where she was, but he could
not reach her. He called her name, but she didn’t respond.
Rio asked her if she
could get up, and she shook her head. So, Rio knew what he needed to do. He
reached out and lifted her into his arms. Now, they were both hanging by the
rope. Idola realized what he was doing so she reached her arms around his neck
and her tail around his middle along the rope. Her right leg could not help her
because it hurt real badly. Rio told her to hang on as he let go of her to take
the rope in both hands. Carrying her while climbing proved to be very difficult.
Slowly they made it to the branch. There they lay to catch their breaths. After
a while, Rio untied the rope and put it on his shoulder. He picked up Idola and
carried her following up river to where everyone was looking for her. They came
upon the search party. His dad took Idola from him, and they went to the
overhang. There they bound her broken leg.
Rio waited until her leg
was bound and then told everyone he was sorry for all the times he had been
angry and out of control. He told them he would try to never lose his temper
again. They hugged him and told him they forgave him. His mom saw his wounded
stomach and bandaged it up. He showed them the rope he made and how he had
found and rescued Idola. Everyone was proud of how Rio had acted and how he wanted
to change. And change he did. He grew up to be a very nice well mannered
monkey.
Boys and girls I just
told you a pretend story about an angry monkey. Now I want to talk about
people: you and me. We are not to be angry people. The Bible says in Psalm
103:8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy. Are you thankful God is slow to
anger? That He is merciful? I am! He is our example to follow. The Bible also
says in 1:19, So then my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Wrath
is another word for strong anger. We need to listen to others, not just keep on
talking, and we need to be slow to anger just like the Lord is. Proverbs 22:24 says, Make no friendship with an angry man…Wow,
we are not to make friends with angry people. That also means if you are an
angry person no one should be your friend. We need to be careful not to get
mad. We need to listen to others speaking and not try to talk over them or
louder than them. We need to not be angry. Do you think this is something
you can do? I surely hope so.
Memorize: Psalm 103:8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to
anger and abounding in mercy.
Verses in NKJ unless
otherwise stated.
I hope the picture of the angry monkey is not to frightening! Thanks for reading!
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