“>The white sands of the beach glistened like diamonds as the early morning sun rose slowly over the vast blue ocean. Waves rushed in, gently roaring then hissing as they seemed to magically disappear into the sparkling white shore. A few hundred feet beyond the water’s edge, the dense jungle was dark, the sun unable to penetrate the thick leaves and vines that grew unabated. If you were to look closely and be at exactly the right angle, a path could be seen; an opening that would take you into the hidden depths.
A place where no man had ever trod, yet a civilization of sorts thrived; a place where bananas grew on trees tall and slender; the weight of the huge clusters of them causing the trees to bend to the ground, allowing the inhabitants to easily pick them. Coconuts ripened and fell, often causing injury—even death—to unsuspecting wanderers of the peaceful tribe. Most of them, however, had learned that during ripening time you did not walk beneath the swaying coconut palms.
On this particular morning, a small brown dot rode in on a wave; bobbing, vanishing beneath the water, then reappearing. At times the brown dot was gone and in its place red and white stripes appeared. Occasionally a flash of bright yellow blinked like a faulty caution light. With a final whoosh of wave the object washed upon the shore and lay still, its round flat hands of brass glinting among the sparkling sands. It appeared to be made in the image of the island’s inhabitants; a symbolic thing they would tell the story of for years to come when this dark day was finally over.
From out of the opening, they came marching, slowly in single file, lockstep, until they were as close as they dared be to the lifeless object. Then the dozen—or was it thirteen—monkeys formed a semi-circle around the tiny toy figure on the sand. One had a banana and approached shyly, almost reverently, and when it was within a few feet—its courage drained—tossed the banana toward the tiny figure then scampered back to its place in the half circle, where it crouched, making crying sounds and trembling in fear.
The rest of the monkeys began to hoot and howl, their voices to them a mystical music they hoped would drive the strange object away. Moving as one, closer to the still and silent thing the gods had sent to their island, they sang louder and louder, until the roar and hiss of the waves was buried in their shouts. When they were within a few feet of it, their nervous noise now a roaring cacophony, the object stirred ever so slightly. Howls of anger turned to shrieks of fear as the tribe fled back into the dark safety of the dense jungle, where they hid and watched the tiny being at the water’s edge.
On the beach, the tiny monkey, clad in red and white striped pants and a yellow vest with red buttons, whirred and rose slowly to a sitting position. Its arms were spread wide, and its black eyes glared without seeing toward its living likenesses cowering in the jungle.
Suddenly it brought its two brass hands together, and above the roar of the ocean a sound was heard that echoed across the sand and sent the frightened monkeys running—tumbling one over the other—shrieking in abject terror. A sound that would forever cause them to skitter sideways at the least unexpected noise, and reverberate in their dreams, causing them to awaken shrieking and trembling:
“tink”
thingy said
Hahaha.
I say that now, in the light of day, but, he is scary. Eek!
charlesmashburn said
No, you had it right the first time. It’s definitely a hahaha!
Thanks for the read and comment! I love it!
Sherry Mashburn said
Great build up, Charlie. I’ve never liked those little monkeys; they all have the same mean smirk on their face.
charlesmashburn said
tink
Li said
Ha! loved it. Very sly. I’m glad I read it despite your dire warning 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Oh good golly! I hope I don’t scare folks off with that warning. Most know me well enough to see through the obvious bluff.
I’m glad you read it and enjoyed it. Thanks for the visit and comments!
Bodhirose said
I thoroughly enjoyed this, Charles. What wonderful writing skill you have. Oh, no, your warning had no affect to keep me from reading on–it made me want to more!
tink…
charlesmashburn said
Hahaha… tink…. I think that may become my signature sign off.
Well, seriously, the warning was in jest, and the concern about the warning was tongue-in-cheek, so…. what are we to believe from this guy??
Both were attempts to lure unsuspecting readers into the depths of the dark jungle of my mind. (tink)
I am so glad you enjoyed it. I had a blast writing it!
And, last but not least, by any means, thank you very much for the wonderful comment!
mindlovemisery said
This was awesome definitely scary (those monkeys are quite creepy) and very amusing =)
charlesmashburn said
Legend has it the toy monkees with the cymbals were designed by an inmate at the infamous Bedlam Asylum; a little known chamber of horrors that existed for the incarceration and fattening of those with minds a bit askew back in the early days of colonial America It was located on a tiny island that lies just off the coast of what is now South Carolina. They are indeed creepy little things, and their eyes are said to be mirror images of those of the headmaster that ran the asylum from its beginnings until it burned to the ground. The island where the asylum once stood is now grown over with lush and thick vegetation. Haunted they say, by those who died there. Their hootings and howlings can often be heard on bright sunlit mornings at the precise time the headmaster was known to make his rounds.
Sorry… I do get carried away sometimes.
So glad you stopped by and I sincerely appreciate the wonderful comments!
Jeanie McBain said
Excellent, I loved reading this story 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, Jeanie! Glad you enjoyed it, and I appreciate the nice comment/compliment!
Jingle said
one monkey is not scary enough, but when it comes to dozens or hundreds, the force is powerful.
excellent story, you got the skills/talent there.
keep it up.
🙂
charlesmashburn said
They can be frightening in numbers, Jingle!
Thanks for the visit, read, comments and compliments! Always appreciated!
wordcoaster said
If you’ve seen Toy Story 3–this story is terrifying (you know that screeching howls will follow the *tink*) I noticed one typo: monkey’s should be monkeys. A fun read, thanks for sharing 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I don’t think I’ve seen it, but monkeys screeching and howling can be a terrifying sound. If yu ask me they’re scary creatures in any circumstance.
Thanks for the typo alert. I don’t have these edited, and its a wonder there aren’t more. Spell check saves me most of the time!
Really appreciate your visit and comments! Glad yoou enjoyed the story, too!
mish said
This was classic ! I loved the way you built up the suspense step-by-step … and at the crucial moment … all we got was a *tink*
You had me in stitches there .. LOL
Great story-telling technique Charles ! I loved it !
charlesmashburn said
Thanks a bunch, Mish! I just kind of put that toy monkey with the cymbals in my silly ol’ head, and took off with it. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed my little jungle thrillert And tickled it got a laugh out of you, too! Thanks so much for the visit, comments, and compliments! Very much appreciated!
Catie Eliza said
Haha you’re mad! (I mean that as a sincere compliment!, Also, in a lot of places people understand mad to mean angry, however, over here in Britain we mean like crazy, just to be clear, but I think it’s brilliant!) I actually genuinely avoided reading this till you suggested it because I am the biggest sissy in the world when it comes to scary things… hahaha. I should have known better. :] Fun read. xx
charlesmashburn said
Over here ‘cross the pond we call that skeert, as in, don’t be skeert. I am thoroughly amused that you avoided the story! That is outstanding! hahahaha (Texas for LOL)
I knew you would love the story! And don’t worry, I am quite proud of my particular brand of madness, and I accept your compliment with a huge smile on my face.
I was wondering what part of the world you are in. It seemed we were on different schedules, but I couldn’t quite tell how different.
I will try and walk the shoe tomorrow morning and see what else is going to develope. It’s been lazy all day.Seems to have taken a liking to my big chair and Jerry Springer. I find myself wishing it could talk and laugh.
Cheers! (My brother taught me that. He lives in St. Croix, and if I understand, it can mean several things, among them “good bye”)
Catie Eliza said
Skeert? Never heard that before! Haha, yeah cheers means goodbye and thank you mostly, but has other uses too. Glad you recognised my faltering compliment for what it was, and that it made you smile. :] xx
charlesmashburn said
Ain’t skeert! You might be when you read the next segment of the shoe saga. I’m expecting another comment from you by the time I post this reply! Cheers!
JD said
Wow did I get suckered in this one! LOL Great jiob my friend!
~JD
charlesmashburn said
Awesome! That means I accomplished what I set out to do, which was pull you in, get you all worked up, then startle you with a “tink”…..
I love it!
Thanks for the visit, read, and comment! Started my day out with a smile!
Serena Shay said
LOL…that was wonderful! I can totally see the live monkey’s surrounding the toy and wonder just what in the heck it is… hehe Nice job!
charlesmashburn said
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed it! It was a “hoot” to write!
I appreciate the visit and great comments!
e.a.s. demers said
*phew* so glad the colorful, stripey thing that washed up on the beach was a ‘tink-ing’ monkey…. if it’d been a wind-up clown, I would definitely expect some nightmares tonight!
awesome build-up!
*tink*— still chuckling 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Oh, good golly, now! Clowns? What? You think I’m some kind of evil sadist?? I won’t be able to get to sleep now! CLOWNS!
Thanks so much for the visit and awesome comments. I love it when I can somebody chuckle!
Catie Eliza said
I agree, clowns are totally blood chilling! (why did anyone ever think that children should be exposed to them?!)
charlesmashburn said
No kidding! Most kids are terrified of the painted thangs!
Kay Salady said
Charles! That was so cool. xoXox
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Kay. So glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate the visit, read, and comment.
A.B. Thomas said
Awesome, just simply awesome!
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, A.B.! Your compliment/comment is very much apprecaited!
springcycle said
Poor little monkeys. Do you think he was the advance guard for an army of wind-up conquistadors? I liked your story, you pulled me in with your warning at the start and then the story was strong enough in its own right to keep me reading. Nice work!
charlesmashburn said
There are currently two follow-ups to this story you might enjoy: I Tink Not, and I Tink Not ~ 8-10-11 (He Grew A Bunch)
Thanks for reading anc commenting. Your comments are wonderful and very much appreciated!
e.a.s. demers said
Couldn’t find an email address for you on your blog. But, just wanted to let you know that I selected your story, Be No Evil!, as this week’s tribute piece for Bluebell books!
Your award is posted on the Bluebell site 🙂
Congratulations!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you so much! This such a wonderful surprise and I am honored to accept the award. I will post it on my blog right away!
Paula Tohline Calhoun said
Don’t know how I missed this when it came around the first time. . .so great Charles! So great in fact that I havezarisen from mt bed pf post-surgical pain to write and tell you! I thoughtr for sure I was a shoe-in for the award this week. . .Then I read yours, and reluctantly agreed that your story is probably better than my STUPID STORY-POEM. . .BWA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA!!
Congrats, Charles! You deserve it!
charlesmashburn said
Sounds like the meds are working, Paula! Feeling no pain? In any case, I’m glad you enjoyed the story, even though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was better than your story-poem.
Hope your recovery is going well and you are up and at-em soon!
ogungbesan20 said
LOVELY. WELL WRITTEN
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much! I appreciate your visit and comment!
charlesmashburn said
Reblogged this on Marbles In My Pocket ~ The Official Blog of Charles L. Mashburn ~ Poems, Short Stories, and random thoughts from the author of "Be Still… and know that I am God" and commented:
Sometimes… it ain’t nothing but monkey bidness.
Mashburn said
Nice Story Bro: I wernt skert. But loved the discription of the island home. Cheers Ken
charlesmashburn said
ah’ight den. We’re ya skeert a that monkey I sent ya in the email??