0:03

Hello

0:06

folks,

0:09

Monkey here. Now

0:11

before Jana starts spinning yawns about

0:13

what a trickster of a fella

0:15

I am, I just want to

0:17

let you know, I'm not as

0:19

bad as she makes out. There

0:22

are animals in this very jungle, my home,

0:25

who would love to

0:27

have me for their Christmas dinner.

0:30

So if I play a little

0:32

joke on them now and then,

0:34

that's only fair isn't it? Anyway

0:38

don't worry, because

0:40

they can't catch me. Well

0:53

we'll see about that monkey. On

0:56

with the story. Christmas

0:59

in the Jungle One

1:03

fine day, late in the year, monkey

1:06

sat perched in a tree, his

1:08

eyes peeking over a towering fence, into

1:12

the man's garden. This

1:14

garden was a feast for any

1:16

monkey brimming with fruits, nuts,

1:18

vegetables and flowers. The

1:21

fence was touted as monkey proof. Of

1:24

course it was no match for our smart friend.

1:27

Today, something extraordinary

1:29

caught monkey's eye.

1:32

There stood a tree, unlike

1:34

any other he had seen. A green,

1:38

pointy triangle shaped wonder.

1:41

Its branches bore the most marvellous

1:43

fruits of many colours, most

1:46

of them shimmering in the

1:48

sunlight. I wonder

1:51

if those fruits taste as good

1:53

as they sparkle, mused

1:55

monkey, with a swift

1:57

swing on a long branch and a

1:59

daringly leap, he found himself

2:01

inside the garden. The

2:03

peculiar tree wasn't the easiest to

2:05

climb, but Monkey, determined

2:08

as ever, managed to grasp

2:10

a lower branch. He reached

2:12

up, plucking the oddly shaped

2:14

fruits, which were surprisingly

2:16

well secured. After

2:19

a bit of a tussle, he had a bundle

2:21

of them tucked in the crook of his arm. He

2:24

scumpered back over the monkey-proof

2:26

walls just as the man emerged,

2:29

shaking his fist. Back

2:31

in the safety of the jungle, Monkey

2:33

inspected his hall of brightly

2:35

coloured fruit. Oh,

2:38

yuck! These don't

2:40

taste good at all, he

2:42

grimaced. Not juicy, not

2:45

soft, and not tasty.

2:49

But don't they look just

2:51

lovely? If I can't

2:53

eat them, at least I'll

2:55

have the snazziest tree in

2:58

the jungle. Everyone will be

3:00

green with envy. And

3:02

so, he decorated his tree

3:04

with a bright bauble. True

3:07

to his prediction, all day

3:09

long animals paraded by,

3:12

their eyes wide with

3:14

wonder. This is a

3:17

rare and mystical collado tree,

3:20

Monkey boasted, spinning a tall

3:22

story. Each colour holds

3:24

a different magic, but

3:27

they aren't ripe for eating just

3:29

yet. On

3:31

the longest night, under the

3:34

full moon, their magic

3:36

will come alive, just

3:39

you wait. Most

3:41

animals were quite taken in

3:43

by Monkey's fantastic tale. But

3:46

Bear and Tigress, not

3:49

so much. They were

3:51

always wary of Monkey's antics. These

3:54

marvellous fruits are

3:56

just another one of his declared

4:02

Tigress, her eyes narrowed

4:04

in suspicion. "'Oh, you plucked a

4:06

fruit! I mean words, right

4:09

out of my mouth!' agreed

4:11

Bear, nodding his large head.

4:14

They decided to seek wisdom from the

4:16

old owl, who was conveniently

4:18

perched in a nearby tree. Although,

4:21

sir, from a special tree

4:23

in the man's garden called

4:26

a Christmas tree, the

4:29

humans are celebrating a

4:32

very special time of

4:34

year, a time

4:37

of gift-giving.' "'Oh,

4:40

gifts? Oh, I do love gifts!

4:43

It's just that, oh, no one

4:45

ever seems to give any to me!' Bear

4:48

mumbled, a little forlorn. "'Christmas!'

4:53

you say?' purred

4:55

Tigress, sounding interested.

4:58

"'Do tell us more!' "'In

5:02

some places the world turns white,

5:05

with a glittering carpet

5:07

called snow. It

5:10

sparkles in the moonlight and a

5:12

chile to the touch. Children

5:15

bundle up in hats and

5:17

gloves and play with the

5:20

snow, and

5:22

even rolling giant snowballs

5:24

into frosty figures called

5:27

snowmen. And then, on

5:29

Christmas night, a jolly old

5:32

man named Santa

5:34

Claus rides in his

5:36

sleigh, delivering presents.' "'But

5:39

we've never seen anything like that in the

5:41

jungle before!' grumbled

5:43

Bear, feeling a bit left out

5:45

of the magic. "'Also,

5:49

what was that cold, carper-y stuff you

5:51

mentioned? Does it grow in

5:53

the jungle?' Owl tooted.

5:56

"'Do it, too! It's called snow!'

6:00

And actually you have

6:02

seen it, only

6:04

from afar, on top

6:06

of the big mountain all year

6:08

round. Some

6:11

say Santa stores

6:13

his presents in

6:15

a secret cave up there, hidden

6:19

away from

6:21

thieving paws. Most

6:25

intriguing, commented

6:28

Tigress. Tigress

6:32

and Bear were very pleased with this

6:34

information, and they told

6:37

the animals all about this wonderful

6:39

thing called Christmas, and

6:41

how monkey had managed to steal only

6:43

a few tiny bits of it, and

6:46

was keeping them all to himself. Typical

6:49

monkey behaviour, said

6:52

Tigress. He can't help

6:54

stealing as he doesn't even know

6:56

what he has stolen. Christmas

7:00

is a time of giving, not

7:02

taking, but he's not

7:05

smart enough to understand that. Soon

7:08

the other animals lost

7:10

interest in monkey's shiny stolen baubles.

7:16

And monkey, who lives to be the

7:18

centre of attention, felt annoyed.

7:22

I know, he thought.

7:25

I'll find Santa's secret cave

7:27

up on the big mountain,

7:30

and I will steal lots of presents

7:32

and give them away to the other

7:34

animals. We

7:37

will celebrate Christmas here in

7:39

the jungle, and

7:41

I'll be the most popular monkey

7:43

of all time. I'll

7:46

be more popular than Santa, at

7:49

least here in the jungle. And

7:52

so monkey set off on

7:54

a long expedition up the big mountain.

7:56

He was an expert at climbing trees. But

8:00

climbing mountains was a

8:03

whole deal harder. How

8:05

his hairy legs strained and

8:07

ached as he climbed higher

8:10

and higher, scrambling over rocks

8:12

and scree. Every

8:15

now and then he looked back and

8:17

saw the tops of the trees of

8:19

the jungle way below. He

8:21

was so high up, at

8:24

last he reached the snow line. His

8:28

feet were frozen, but

8:30

on he plodded, determined to

8:33

find Santa's case. The

8:36

air grew misty and he shivered. I

8:39

wish there was somebody up here. Maybe

8:42

a bird or a goat who could

8:44

give me directions. I

8:47

don't see anybody. Hang

8:49

on a minute. Something

8:52

moved. Hello!

8:56

Anyone there? Yes, I

8:58

is Santa. Gradually,

9:02

a small figure

9:04

appeared out of the mist. He,

9:08

she or it walked on

9:10

two legs and wore

9:13

clothes and shoes like a human.

9:15

Only, it had green

9:17

skin and a very large nose.

9:21

Hello! Oh, Monkey,

9:24

I haven't met anyone like you before.

9:28

I'm a Christmas elf, replied the

9:30

figure. So what are

9:32

you doing up here? I

9:35

work for Santa and

9:37

I was about to ask you the same

9:39

question. What are

9:41

you doing up here? As

9:45

it happens, I'm

9:47

looking for Santa's secret cave where

9:49

he keeps all his presents. Can

9:52

you give me directions? After

9:56

presents, are you? Only

9:59

good morning. Good monkeys get presents

10:02

and good monkeys are very rare.

10:05

In fact, I can tell

10:07

you that there are hardly

10:09

any monkeys on our Christmas

10:11

delivery schedule because they are

10:13

all so naughty. You,

10:18

meet the exception. That's me.

10:22

I'm not naughty or tricky.

10:25

Fib the monkey. So can I

10:27

have lots of presents to date back to the

10:30

jungle? I'll give them all away to

10:32

my friends and relatives and even

10:34

to my enemies if you like. The

10:36

elf was suspicious. You're

10:39

not lying are you? Because

10:43

we don't reward monkeys

10:46

who tell bibs. He

10:49

fixed monkey with his green

10:51

elf eyes and monkey felt

10:53

all strange. And

10:55

do you know what? He

10:58

had an urge to tell the truth. The

11:01

whole truth and nothing but

11:03

the truth. In

11:06

short, he felt honest.

11:09

This was some powerful Christmas magic

11:12

that the elf was using. Well,

11:16

actually... Confessed

11:18

monkey as if speaking in a

11:21

trance. I

11:23

did play one or two

11:25

little tricks this year. But

11:28

mostly I played them on bear and

11:30

Tigress which is only fair because they

11:33

want to eat me. And

11:35

elf replied. What

11:37

sort of tricks? Well,

11:41

one time. Replied

11:43

monkey trying not to laugh. I

11:47

told everyone that there was

11:49

gold buried just

11:51

outside bears cave. And

11:54

all the greedy jungle animals started digging

11:56

for gold all around where he lives.

12:00

It made him so cross, he put

12:02

his honeypuffs on to a different canary

12:04

feed. And then another

12:07

time, I told Bear and

12:09

Tigress to go into the

12:11

laughing bush, which was

12:14

actually full of angry bees. Who

12:16

stuck them both so bad, they

12:19

didn't come near me for a whole month.

12:23

That was really funny and they

12:26

both deserved it. Oh, you

12:28

did, did you? So,

12:30

now the truth is coming

12:33

out. Tell me,

12:35

did you play any mean

12:37

tricks on any animals who

12:40

weren't trying to eat you?

12:44

Oh, well, said Monkey,

12:46

feeling rather guilty. Another novel

12:48

feeling for him. There was one time

12:51

when Baby

12:53

Mushcat wanted to be a monkey.

12:56

So, I kind of tied his

12:58

tail to a branch and

13:00

he cried for his mummy. I

13:03

suppose that was rather mean of me,

13:05

really. Confessed Monkey,

13:08

the elf shook his head. That

13:11

was very, very mean. Indeed,

13:14

I would say it was

13:16

spiteful and cruel. No

13:18

presents for you this year, Monkey. But

13:21

if you work hard at being good

13:24

for the coming year, maybe

13:26

there will be a small gift

13:28

for you next Christmas. What's

13:30

the point of a present if you have to work

13:33

for it? demanded Monkey

13:35

angrily. Isn't there

13:37

anything for free at Christmas?

13:41

And Elf replied calmly. There's

13:43

not very much that's free these

13:46

days. I'm afraid

13:48

Christmas has become very

13:50

materialistic and commercialised.

13:54

You mean there's nothing that's

13:56

free at all? I

13:59

wouldn't say. Say that! The snow is

14:01

still free! You could take

14:04

some snow back to the jungle with you

14:06

if you like! Taunted

14:08

Elf laughing, who didn't seem like

14:10

a particularly kind Elf at all.

14:14

And Monkey turned around and headed back

14:16

down the mountain before he froze.

14:20

At least it was warm back in the jungle at Christmas. But

14:23

as he trudged, he had

14:25

an idea. Do you

14:27

know what? Perhaps I

14:30

will take some free snow back with me. They've

14:33

never seen snow up close in a jungle

14:35

before. And

14:37

everyone will think it's amazing!

14:41

So he began to pick up snow and rolled

14:44

it into a ball. Um,

14:47

I'm not going to be able to carry much

14:49

of this with me, he thought. Then

14:52

he remembered how the wise old

14:54

owl said that human kids rolled

14:56

snow up into giant snowballs and

14:58

made snowmen out of them. So

15:02

he rolled some snow along the ground. And

15:05

it grew bigger and

15:07

bigger. Until it

15:10

was almost as big as he was. The

15:13

snowball was so huge, it was hard to

15:15

push over the stones. So

15:18

Monkey put his shoulder into it and

15:21

shoved it as hard as he could. Elf,

15:24

who had been watching and laughing at his antics,

15:26

joined in and helped him push. Perhaps

15:30

he used a little magic because

15:32

the snowball began to roll down the slope,

15:34

growing as it went. When

15:38

the giant snowball reached the edge of the snow

15:40

line, it began to pick

15:42

up speed, rolling all the way down the path to

15:44

the bottom of the mountain. As

15:47

it happened, Bear lived at the foot of

15:49

the mountain. And

15:51

just as he was coming out

15:53

of his case, stretching and yawning, the

15:56

enormous snowball rolled right over him.

16:00

on rolling with him inside it all the

16:02

way to Tigress's lair, where

16:04

it crashed into a tree. Tigress,

16:07

hearing a thunderous noise, pants out

16:09

of her lair and roared in

16:11

amazement as a giant snow bear

16:14

emerged out of the heap and

16:16

bellowed at the top of his voice, monkey!

16:24

I know this is one of

16:26

your tricks! I'm

16:29

making it, there was Watson all this from

16:31

high up the mountain called out. Happy

16:35

Christmas! Pinnacle

16:38

monkey? That

16:41

was a mean trick you played on

16:43

there in Tigress. I

16:46

didn't mean to honest! exclaimed

16:49

monkey. Besides, you

16:52

did help me roll the snowball so

16:54

you can't talk. But

16:57

here's an idea, if you

16:59

give me two little presents, I

17:02

promise to deliver them to Tigress

17:04

and Bear in a

17:06

true spirit of Christmas. Hum,

17:10

that is a nice Christmas

17:12

idea, but if

17:14

you don't keep your promise, you

17:16

will be struck off Santa's

17:18

Christmas list permanently, which means,

17:21

in case you don't know, forever. You

17:24

can trust me, monkey on! promised

17:27

monkey. And

17:31

so Elf reached into his magic sack

17:33

and handed over a little pot of Maluka

17:36

honey for Bear, and a bottle

17:38

of ode a caplet for Tigress to

17:40

dab behind her ears. All

17:43

the animals were amazed to see snow in

17:45

the jungle for the first time. I

17:48

was particularly surprised to see a

17:50

giant snow bear, but

17:52

that was nothing compared to the sight of

17:55

monkey giving Christmas gifts to

17:57

his old enemies Bear and Tigress.

18:01

They really had seen nothing like this before,

18:04

especially when it turned out there

18:06

was no trick involved. And guess

18:09

what? For one

18:11

entire week, the animals

18:13

were all kind to one another

18:15

and didn't play any mean tricks

18:18

or hunt each other. That

18:20

was some special kind of Christmas magic.

18:24

Santa and Tigress ate Christmas dinner of

18:26

nuts and berries and

18:28

Monkey made a promise to be good for

18:31

an entire year, except

18:33

for a few little tricks now

18:36

and then of course. And

18:40

that was the story of Christmas in

18:42

the jungle. We

18:44

wish you a very happy Christmas and

18:46

holiday season. Until next

18:49

time, happy holidays and a

18:51

wonderful new year. From

18:53

me, Donna. And

18:55

me, Monkey, at

18:58

storynorrie.com. Come

19:00

back soon!