Moral stories -- A little monkey and wise women

I WANT

“I want to be big,” says Little Monkey. “I want to be strong.” A wise woman hears him. “Take this magic wand,” she says, “and all your wishes can come true.” A giraffe comes by. He stretches his long neck. He eats the sweet leaves at the top of the trees. “I want a long neck,” says Little Monkey. “POP!” His neck grows long, just like the giraffe’s. Little Monkey is happy.An elephant comes down to the river. He fills his trunk with water. He blows it all over himself. “I want to do that too!” says Little Monkey. “BANG!”

Just like that, he grows a trunk. He is very happy. “This is fun!” he says. Next, Little Monkey sees a zebra. “I want stripes like those,” he says. “WHIZZ!” Little Monkey has stripes all over his body, just like the zebra. He is very, very happy. He goes to the river to try out his new trunk. He looks down. He sees himself in the water. “Mother!” he cries. “Help! A monster!”“That’s not a monster,” says his mother. “That’s you.” “You want a giraffe’s neck, an elephant’s trunk and stripes like a zebra. Don’t you remember?” Little Monkey cries and cries. “I look AWFUL!” he says. “I want to be myself again.” There is a POP, a BANG and a WHIZZ. Little Monkey is himself again. He jumps for joy.

He throws the magic wand into the river. He never wants to be anyone else again.