Monkey Business

When Monkey Exhibit Inc. opened, way back a long time ago, there were three monkeys in the cage.

One day the zoo keeper suspended a large bunch of bananas on a string from the roof of the cage and placed a ladder underneath. Immediately the boldest of the monkeys made a bee line for the bananas. As soon as he stepped foot on the ladder the zoo keeper blasted all three monkeys with ice cold water from the fire hose. The monkeys cowered together in a corner, cold and wet, pondering their misfortune.

But monkeys are quick to forget, and pretty soon one of the other monkeys approached the ladder. Cautiously at first, she walked over to the spot and looked up at the sweet golden bouquet. Slowly, she placed her foot on the ladder's first rung, and after a nervous pause she grinned at the thought of the treat waiting for her at the top. At that moment the zoo keeper once again doused the entire troop with cold water.

The next morning, thinking himself wiser than the others, the third monkey waited until the zoo keeper was out of sight then quickly dashed up the ladder. But the zoo keeper was waiting in ambush and before he got half way up the ladder, the would-be banana thief and his companions were soaked and shivering for the third time in two days.

After this the monkeys ignored the bananas. Every couple of days the zoo keeper would replenish their sweet smelling chandelier with a fresh bunch of perfectly ripe bananas, but the monkeys barely noticed. They shivered at the mere sight of the ladder.

The following week the zoo keeper transfered one of the monkeys to another exhibit and replaced him with a new monkey. The new monkey could hardly believe her luck when she spotted the bananas and saw that nobody else was interested in them. She started to climb the ladder but was immediately pulled down by the other two and beaten into submission. She quickly learned that the bananas were more trouble than they were worth.

As the weeks turned into months they brought with them more personnel changes at Monkey Exhibit Inc. The oldest of the original monkeys died and was replaced with a new recruit from a different zoo. The zoo keeper got sick and was forced into early retirement. The troop grew; first to five, then seven strong. Each new arrival tried to climb the ladder and every attempt was violently corrected by the others. Eventually none of the original monkeys remained. None of the monkeys in the troop had ever been hosed for trying to take a banana, but they didn't dare attempt it for fear of being pummeled by the others. They didn't know why it was like that. It had always been that way.

Many years passed. One day a young monkey joined the troop. To everyone's surprise she completely ignored the bananas. Instead, she laid low and observed the others. She gradually made friends, first with the lowest ranking monkeys, and eventually with the troop leaders. She listened to their stories and learned about curse of the forbidden bananas. She spoke to the other monkeys privately, away from the prying ears of the others. She convinced each of her friends that she knew how to get the bananas down without anyone being hurt, and she promised to share the bounty with them.

When she had secured the trust of all the others, our monkey heroine stepped up to the ladder. The rest of the troop sat and watched in silence. She ascended the ladder slowly, with purpose and quiet confidence. No one moved. She plucked the bananas from their perch and brought them down to the ground. Nothing happened. She walked around the cage and rewarded each of her friends with a sweet, ripe banana, then she sat down to enjoy her prize.