MISCHIEVOUS MONKEY

MISCHIEVOUS MONKEY
A long time ago, in a large Forest lived there a tribe of Monkeys .The Forest was in the
Kingdom of a large and powerful dynasty. A great river flowed at the edge of the Forest.
The river snaked its way through the entire stretch of the Kingdom .The water even flowed through the large fortress of the capital city of this proud nation. High among the branches the Monkeys peered at the immense city many Miles away. It was a sight to behold especially at night, lights shone all across the city. The monkeys gazed in awe.
Among this tribe of Monkeys was a very mischievous monkey, he went by the name Naughty Nagesh, now Nagesh was a very naughty monkey. He was the Terror among his pack, well at least among the juveniles. Stealing from the humans who came to the River to collect fruits, flowers and herbs was his favorite pastime. The humans mostly forest gatherers had enough of this monkey. The Monkey Elders had warned Nagesh.But it was of no avail. Nagesh went about his mischievous antics, without a shred of guilt .At least self preservation should have made him a wee bit wary .Nah not Nagesh.


The Humans came in there boats along the river to collect fruits and flowers .A stretch of the forest they had cultivated into a fruit farm growing mangoes, bananas, melons etc. They kept a wary eye out for this mischievous ape.
Nagesh was too smart for these forest gatherers. “They will never catch me “he laughed boasting to his friends.
“You must be careful Nagesh” his younger sister Urmila.
“Sister go play kiddo” Nagesh
NOW the Elders had issued a strict warning!!! NO MORE STEALING FROM THE HUMANS.
One fine sunny summer Morning Nagesh went on his usual routine of Pillage .He called out to his Friends “Satish, Sanjay, Ramesh!!!!”
No heads emerged from among the branches.
At last Chintu the smallest among the band of bandits “Nagesh the Elders have issued a strict warning, also there are rumors about hunters being spotted, it’s not worth the risk”
Nagesh” u cowards, scary fur balls, go play”
I will get myself some nice mangoes and teach those humans not to venture into my domain again. Saying so, he headed to the rivers edge, leaping with agility and style, among the branches. At last he reached his favorite vantage point; a branch high atop the trees. The monkey was very well camouflaged here. He had a clear view for miles around him. The river and the banks where the boats docked were clearly visible. Mangoes filled the barges .Gleaming red and yellow the mangoes were very tempting .No one was around, only a single guard sleeping on the warm sunny beach.
‘This is very easy, like stealing candy from a baby’ thought Nagesh

In a thrice he was onto the barge.” now to feast “nagesh. He ate like a ravenous raven, devouring the mangoes with greed. One, two, five, and ten he ate without a pause. The sentry was fast asleep. Not doing his duty well thought Nagesh. After a while he started feeling sleepy. His eyes felt heavy, his vision odd. The mangoes looked enormous.
“How did this mango grow so large?”
He started to stagger. His last memory was of a burly bearded man gazing at him with an evil smile. It was the sentry.

Many hours later:

Nagesh awoke with a jolt hitting his head on something hard” ouch”
His vision was still not clear.” Where am I, whats this?” He was flying he thought “Am I dead”. The forest was moving.”I must be in a dream” He felt a sharp jolt .Atlas his head cleared. Now he realized where he was. In a cage he was tied to the central mast in the barge .Than it hit him hard” dam I am caught “He started jumping frantically about his cage. The evil bearded sentry was watching him with a grim face. Another thin
Lean man stood by the central mast, he was sallow, lean, with a pockmarked face, with earring .Yellow teeth and a hunters clothes. “Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh the potion worked “cackled the lean hunter. “We sure bagged the blighter” the bearded trapper.
The hunters had injected the Mangoes with a potent drug. The potion had put Nagesh into a deep sleep. “Dammm the hunters have got me, I am done for “Nagesh.They were professional hunters sent in to trap the monkeys and teach them a lesson. The Forest gatherers and fruit farmers had hired them. It was getting dark, when the boat sailed into the city. The sounds and smells were new to the monkey, scared to the core he was. Many a evil face he saw as the barge sailed into the hunters section of the river harbor. A large gate allowed the boats to sail into the city.Nagesh was kept locked in a cage and stowed away in the barge. A dark place where he was kept .Large rodents walked around the cage and huge cats. The smell was nauseating.Nagesh spent the night below deck, stowed in a dark corner.


After 3 days he was finally sold to a street performer. The Monkey was trained for a month. He was thrashed daily. Odd acrobats Nagesh was made to perform every day on the streets.Nagesh grew thin and weak. He was sick many a times. Sometimes he thought he would die. It was a small girl who lived next door who took care of Nagesh, if not for her Nagesh would surely have died.
Radha the little girl was filled with love for all animals. The street artist who owned Nagesh paid the girl a pittance. After over 3 months nagesh was finally adjusting to his new life in the city, accepting his fate. His strength had recovered to an workable extent.
His routine was the same every day, wake up early morning, practice a few moves, than out on the streets, performing silly acrobats for a cheering jeering crowd of humans.


Apart from Radha ,Karthik a large male cat was his only friend. He talked with the cat late into the night.
“You must escape from here Nagesh, you won’t last long in the city, look at yourself, your keeper will use you and than after your demise he will just get another “Karthik
Nagesh”how do I escape my friend, he keeps me chained and caged all day and he keeps the keys close to him”Karthik”figure out something soon else u will be one dead monkey soon”Nagesh dreamed of his days back in the jungles and wishing he had listened to the elders warning and his friend’s advice. They were the good old days now. He cried sometimes in the night. But he also had become stronger and a much wiser monkey. He knew he must live that was the only way he could perhaps escape. That was his only hope. Not much for a monkey in his state. But that was all Nagesh had Hope that one day he will leap among the trees of his Monkey land. Many escape attempts later Nagesh had all but lost hope of ever seeing his home again.Radha kept him happy, else he would have perished long ago.

One Sunday afternoon about a year later Nagesh was sleeping in his cage, when he heard a sound .He gazed up at the window, and lo beholds peering back at him was a monkey, a wild one, and it was Ramesh!! His old buddy. They had tracked him down finally.Ramesh gestured him to be silent, the keeper was sleeping on the bed in the next room.Satish and Sanjay were slowly using a long stick to get the keys lying on the table. Finally they got the keys.Satish walked in through the door; ever alert he unlocked Nagesh’s cage and his chain.
They headed to the door. There in the doorway stood Radha.She just smiled. The monkeys fled .Nagesh looked back at her one last time .Both had tears in there eyes.
Many years later in the jungle Nagesh still thought about Radha .Every day in his prayers he thought about her. He grew into a wise and strong monkey. He learnt many lessons.

“The loyalty of friends and the kindness of strangers”