A Monkey Mess
The entire town was depressed; the mayor had died. He had been a good and honorable man. The saddest of all was Mrs. Lorez, so she did what she always did to soothe distress: take a long bath. When she was soaked to her satisfaction, she drained the water from the tub and stepped out. She then looked for her clothes, a smart black outfit that she would wear to the funeral dinner.

“Where are those clothes?” she muttered. Suddenly, a brown blur dropped from the ceiling to the ground. Mrs. Lorez shrieked and huddled in a corner of the bathroom, gasping frantically. A little monkey sat in front of her, holding her blouse and cocking its head at her. Four more appeared with her skirt, coat, scarf, and hat! Mrs. Lorez’s terror melted into fury, and she picked up the toilet plunger. Just as she was about to swat the nearest monkey, it scampered out of the room, followed by its four companions.

Mrs. Lorez, too angry to realize that she was wearing only a towel, charged out after them. The monkeys managed to open the door. Mrs. Lorez chased them outside, giving a loud battle cry as she brought the plunger down on the sidewalk with all her strength. All of a sudden, everything was still. The monkeys stopped hooting, and the people stared at Mrs. Lorez. Speechless with embarrassment, Mrs. Lorez ran back into the house, bursting into tears.

“I don’t know what came over me!” she sobbed, collapsing onto a chair.

The monkeys became melancholy and crept to Mrs. Lorez’s side, humbly offering her clothes back. They bowed their heads as Mrs. Lorez slowly dressed herself. Then she took a deep breath and went back outside to apologize for the outburst. Although she expected resentment, the townspeople gave her cheers!

“Why are you laughing after the mayor died?” she stammered. The monkeys ran out just as the people said together, “Because of that crazy monkey mess!” And Mrs. Lorez, the monkeys, and the people all laughed merrily together like one happy town again.