Excerpt
STORY I THE KINKYTAILS GO TO SCHOOL
Once upon a time, not so very many years ago, there were two little monkey boys who lived with their papa and mamma off in the woods in a funny house at the top of a tall tree. These little monkeys were the cutest and most cunning chaps you would want to see, even if you went in an airship to the circus.
I have already told you something about one of them—a red monkey—who traveled with Uncle Wiggily Longears, when the old gentleman rabbit was going about, seeking his fortune. Well, this red monkey's name was Jacko Kinkytail; and his tail, as were the tails of all his family, was all twisted up in kinks. That's how Jacko got his last name—Kinkytail. His brother's name was Jumpo, and Jumpo was colored green. The reason for that was this:
Once Jumpo's mamma bought him a green balloon at the circus. Jumpo was a little baby then, and he didn't know any better than to try to eat the green balloon. Perhaps he thought it was candy. At any rate, before his mamma saw him he had chewed nearly half of the balloon, and he soon turned a pretty green color like the leaves on the trees. Oh! his mamma and papa felt dreadful about it, and they did everything they could to get the color out of the little monkey, but they couldn't, and green he stayed.
"But it doesn't much matter," said Jumpo's papa, "for as long as Jacko is red I think it is nice to have his brother colored green. They look so odd and queer when they go out walking together."
"Oh, but think of having one's children red and green, like some flag," cried Mamma Kinkytail. However, it couldn't be helped, so now I'll tell you some stories of Jacko and Jumpo.
One morning when the two little monkey boys were eating their breakfast in the funny house up in a tree, they suddenly heard a bell ringing.
"Ding dong! Dong ding! Ding-ding! Dong-dong!" rang the bell.
"My! I wonder what that can be?" exclaimed Jumpo, as he finished eating some toasted peanuts with cocoanut on.
"Perhaps it's a fire," suggested Jacko, as he looked to see if any of his red color had come off on his napkin, but it hadn't, I am glad to say.
"Oh, if it's a fire, let's run and see it!" cried Jumpo, getting out of his chair. "Maybe they'll let us squirt some water on the blaze."
"Silly monkey chaps!" cried Mamma Kinkytail, as she laughed at them, "that is not a fire bell, that is the school bell, for school starts to-day, and you must hurry or you will be late."
"Oh, dear! School!" cried Jacko, making a funny face.
"Oh, me! Oh, my!" said Jumpo. "Have we got to go to school?"
"To be sure," answered their mamma. "Vacation and play time is over, and you must be at your lessons. Hurry now, there go Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Sammie has on a new suit."
"Yes, and there go the Bushytail brothers," added Jumpo as he saw two squirrel boys hurrying past while the school bell rang louder and louder.
"Oh, come on, let's go. We'll have some fun!" cried Jacko, and before you knew it he was hanging by his tail from the front door bell knob, and the next moment he had scrambled down the tree trunk and was running after the squirrels and rabbits.
"You've forgotten your books!" called his mamma.
"Never mind, I'll take them," said Jumpo, kindly, so, picking up his own books and those of his brother, he wound his long tail about them, and down he scrambled from the little house in the tree, and soon he, too, was running to school, while the bell went on ringing.
"Ding-dong! Dong-ding!"
Now the school where the monkeys, and all the other animal children studied, was a hollow stump in the woods, and a wise old owl bird was the teacher. Soon all the pupils were in the room, and the teacher told them how glad she was to see them back, and she said she hoped they had all had nice vacations....