Father Monkey ran around the tree, trying to catch his two children. The little ones were laughing and playing tag. Their little tails twitched with happiness. Even though Mother Monkey had said not to, Father Monkey had given them bits of sugar cane to eat. He regretted his actions now.
"Children! Go to bed this instant!" he screeched.
"No, papa, no!" one little monkey cried, squealing as Father Monkey almost caught her.
"We want to play some more!" cried the other little monkey, clapping his feet together as he hung from a branch.
Suddenly, Mother Monkey climbed up the tree, back from visiting her friends. She saw the exasperated Father Monkey, and she clicked her tongue at her two wild children.
"What is this?" she exclaimed. "Father Monkey?"
Father Monkey looked at his toes, embarrassed.
Monkey Monkey huffed. "Father Monkey, you got yourself into this mess, now get yourself out!"
She crossed her long arms and tapped her foot until Father Monkey had an idea of what to do.
Father Monkey's eyes lit up. "Daughter, son, what if I tell you a story? Will you go to bed then?"
Both of the little monkeys paused, considering his proposal. They glanced at each other then nodded, letting go of the branches they were swinging from.
He made sure they were nestled against the tree before he begun.
"Tonight, I will tell you the story of Hanuman when he was younger than you. In fact, he was a baby!"
"Sister Monkey is a baby!" cried one little monkey.
The other little monkey wailed and pushed her brother.
"Now, hush, children. This is a good story!" Mother Monkey said, coming next to Father Monkey and holding his hand.
Father Monkey cleared his throat and began...
~*~
“Once upon a time a baby monkey was born. He was a tiny little monkey with a furry white coat, clear yellow eyes, and a pink face.”
“Just like me!” cried one little monkey, tugging on her fur.
“Yes, little one. Little Hanuman, the baby monkey, was left all alone. At first he was happy to be free, but he realized there is not much a baby monkey can do by itself. Baby monkeys also can’t find food for themselves.”
“No one to give him sugar cane?” asked one little monkey, giggling.
“Yes, dear, no one to give sugar cane,” said Mother Monkey, quirking her lips at Father Monkey. “Now, little ones, listen to the story! Don’t interrupt your father.”
Father Monkey furrowed his forehead. “Now, where was I… Oh! Baby Hanuman was bored and hungry. His little tummy cried and cried! So he decided to count his toes. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. They were all there! He waited and waited. The sun went to sleep and didn’t come back for a long time. Hanuman sat in the dark, waiting. He saw the sky come alive again. It became a dark grey color, then blue, then purple, then pink, and then the sun appeared!
Hanuman was a smart little monkey. Although he had not yet seen food, he had an idea of what a fruit was. He also knew that the rising sun was a most beautiful fruit. His little mouth watered. He had to eat it! He jumped and flew to the sun, stretching out his arms to grab it. But it is not safe for monkeys to be on the sun! His father, the wind, blew cold hair on Hanuman so he would not be burned by the hot sun. Hanuman smiled at the sun, and the sun smiled back. Could fruits smile? Hanuman didn’t know, but he did know that he was hungry!
He was not the only one who wanted to eat the sun. It was the time for Rahu to eat the sun, but he could not with a little monkey also eating the sun! Rahu told Indra, and they both went to see the little monkey. Hanuman did not know what they were. Perhaps they were fruit! Rahu’s head was rather round, so Hanuman took a bite. Perhaps Indra’s white elephant was a fruit bigger than the rest! Hanuman took a bite. He was a very hungry little monkey.
Indra and Rahu did not like the biting monkey, so they threw him back down to the earth. When he fell, little Hanuman broke his jaw! His father, the wind, found him and fixed his jaw. He wanted to make sure Hanuman was safe, so he stayed with him. The world was without wind! Brahma came to speak to the wind. Brahma promised that Hanuman would live forever! The wind agreed to go back into the world, so Hanuman was given sleep and mangoes for his hungry little monkey tummy.
As the wind left, he whispered, ‘Goodnight, my little monkey.’”
The two little monkeys were fast asleep. Father Monkey puffed up his chest and smiled at Mother Monkey.
“Well done,” Mother chuckled softly. “Next time, dear, no sugar.”
Father Monkey nodded. Both turned to watch their children sleep.
“Goodnight, my little monkeys,” whispered Father Monkey.
Author's Note: I loved getting to know more about Hanuman's origin! This story seemed perfect for a bedtime story, and I wanted the setting to be bedtime for a monkey family. I stayed pretty close to the book and only added details for embellishment.
Bibliography:
Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
