Monkeys are the most playful animal in the world. Yet most of us cannot look at monkeys for long without feeling some kind of embarrassment and shame.
Why? All of us humans have lived with monkeys for millions of years. Studies show there are 193 species of these primate mammals, gorillas, chimps, tarssiers, the more common long-tailed primates and many others. But only one of these species stands erect or upright, the homo sapiens, whose bodies are not fully covered with hairs and whose brains are much bigger than the rests.
Only religion can deny that we, all of us come and have evolved from the specie of the primate mammals- the monkeys. Sad to say there are still those who have not completely disentangled their primate characteristics and behaviors. That they are embarrassed by their looks when they see a monkey. That they have first to mortify their feelings if they wanted to observe the playful monkeys.
Stories are told: In America two monkeys open the refrigerator and drank two bottles of wine and when they became intoxicated, the became wise and from then on they never drink again.
In Africa, a great man met a British man in a tunnel where only one person can pass at a time. The British man shouted at the other end of the tunnel so loud his voice reverberated the entire tunnel, " I won't give my way to gorillas!" and the great man from Africa answered, " I will" and that man was Nelson Mandela.
In the Philippines, 188 monkeys went on a picnic. The organizer assigned each a task. One group went to observe a circus, another was tasked to secure documents from a bank and still another was asked to receive from a lower female primate very important papers near the door of a building and some were given each typewriters and the last was tasked to listen intently to everyone speaking in the circus arena.
After some time the one assigned to the bank went back to the command center and brought with him some used tissue papers and napkins and gave them to his manager for his perusal. The one assigned to receive some important papers near the door of a building soon followed bringing with him some smeared and blotted documents, as if retrieved from a waste can and also gave them to the manager for examination. Those given typewriters brought back volumes of the works of Sigmund Freud and Kant. Though most were unreadable they served some other purpose.
And the last who was tasked to listen intently to everyone speaking at the circus arena came back with the report that at some point while he was intently listening, the female lion suddenly stood up and roared, that everyone's eyes were focused on the roaring king of the jungle. But a mere monkey could not withstand the great roaring sound that he instinctively covered his ears. But the male tiger standing nearby saw him and called the chief security guard to bring the monkey to him. The monkey, so scared by the tiger-look facing him was asked to explain immediately why he should not be castigated for covering his ears. The monkey humbly explained but his reasons were not accepted, that he was nevertheless castigated. When the picnic was over everyone went back to headquarters and received fair share of export-quality cavendish banana from Mindanao. As to what happened to all the monkeys is still not clear. The circus is still going on.
Please watch for the tail-end of the tales of 188 monkeys.
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