The Two Monkeys

Two monkeys were sitting in a tree.

One monkey turned to the other. He was eating a banana.

"Friend monkey, do you see that smoke coming from far away?"

"Yes, friend. I hear their is a great banquet, past the mountains."

"Let us go to the banquet, for surely two important creatures such as ourselves will be welcomed with open arms."

The two monkeys made their way, past the mountains, to the great feast. There, they waited for their turn, as there was a long line.

Upon reaching the door, a strange creature stopped the two friends.

"Hello little monkeys."

"Hello, strange creature. We have come from far lands to attend this great banquet."

"I am sorry. This feast is only for humans. Monkeys may not enter. You must go back to where you came from."

"Humans? But we have travelled so far, only to be rejected!"

Sadly, the two monkeys left, and began to travel back to thier jungle. But one monkey turned to his friend.

"Friend, I hear there is a great machine upon this mountain.
It has the power to grant many wishes. Perhaps we may wish to become humans, in order to attend this magnificent feast."

For many days, the two monkeys struggled to the top of the mountain. The wind was cold. The ground was hard. The air was thin.

After a very, very long time, the two travellers reached the top of the mountain. Upon a great plateau sat a worn, broken machine. It was spotted with rust, but as the two friends approached, lights began to blink within the metal shell.

"Who is there?" The machine said.

"Oh wondrous machine! We have come from far lands to seek your wisdom!"

"It was a difficult journey."

"It took us many days."

"Please, oh machine of the future, turn us into human creatures!"

The machine thought.

"Very well. But I will tell you a story."

"There once were two monkeys. From afar they spotted a great feast. But when they reached the feast, they were turned away. In order to gain entry, they decided to travel very far, and very high, to find a machine that could grant wishes. Once there, their wishes were granted."

One monkey turned to the other monkey. "Friend, I never noticed it before, but you smell like a monkey."

"Strange. You also smell like a monkey. In fact, I have never noticed that before."

Slowly, the two monkeys began to change.

"Friend, you no longer smell like a monkey. You smell different."

"As do you. Perhaps we are no longer monkeys."

The monkeys looked and saw their wish had been granted.

The machine began to speak.

"The monkeys looked and saw their wish had been granted. Overjoyed, they began to make their way back down the mountain."

"However, a rock, disturbed by the winds, came down and crashed upon them, pinning them to the ground. There they lay trapped, for a hundred years."

And as the machine said those words, it was so. The two humans that were once monkeys lay trapped under the boulder, for one hundred long years.

At the end of one hundred long years, the machine opened its eyes once more.

"At the end of one hundred long years, the machine opened its eyes once more. Little humans, why are you still here?"

"We are trapped, by this rock," said a voice from under the rock. "We have been trapped for one hundred long years. The only light we have seen is from this small hole in the stone."

"Why do you not release yourselves from your prison?"

"We cannot. The hole is too small to crawl through. Alas, if we were still monkeys, we would be able to release ourselves."

"Friend monkeys, the power to change is something I have granted upon you. Why not change into something smaller, and escape?"

"If only it were so, oh great machine! But this rock prevents us from changing shape. The magic of this mountain is too great to escape from!"

"Ah, my friends. You yet do not understand, after these one hundred long years? You need not change your shape. All you must do is to return to it."

Silence came from under the boulder. Slowly, two monkeys crawled out from a hole in the side.

"My friend, you smell like a monkey."

"You also smell like a monkey."

The two monkeys looked at each other and were glad.

"Machine, thank you."

"Yes, thank you. We see now that we were meant to be monkeys. Wishing to be anything else is foolish, and against nature."

The two monkeys travelled back to the jungles, where they ate bananas and swung in the trees, as monkeys should. The machine spoke once more, to itself.

"The two monkeys thanked the machine. Soon, they travelled back down to the jungles, where they ate bananas and swung in the trees, as monkeys should. Monkeys are monkeys, and humans are humans. Machines are machines. Any other way is foolish."