Maurice the Monkey

In the middle of the jungle lived a monkey now of fame

An intrepid little creature, Little Maurice was his name

Now just like all other monkeys, climbing surely​​ was his game,

Yet compared to other monkeys, Maurice was not the same

Maurice had so much promise, with such talent he was blessed

Such a gifted little climber, he surpassed all of the rest

He could climb before all others, perform tricks they’d never seen

Some were so outrageous, they truly were obscene.

He would invent and he would hone, each and every trick

Stylistically incredible, Little Maurice the maverick

He would spin and twirl and flip, without a single little slip

Double flip and loop the​​ loop, as he showed off to the troop​​ 

Such a show he would put on, such incredible acrobatics,

The troop had surely become, Little Maurice’s fanatics.

But unbeknownst to all, Little Maurice was dismayed

For unlike all the others, Little Maurice was afraid,

Afraid of what you ask? What was the monkey’s plight?​​ 

Well you see this little monkey, he feared and hated heights!

Well how did he perform, with such a crippling fear?

Well you see, he performed on the baby trees

Where the ground was nice and near​​ 

​​ 

No one knew but him, of his terrible little fear,

He daren’t not tell his friends, they’d think that he was queer.

They’d think him oh so strange, if they knew that heights he feared,

A monkey scared of heights! That really was quite weird.

Now, Maurice was nearly 5 and that meant bigger “junior trees”

He’d seen his friends already take the step, with such fluidity and ease

But just looking at the trees, he felt quite nauseated

For that meant conquering heights, which by now we know he hated.

See Maurice knew he had the talent, he knew he could be the best

But the best they traversed heights, they conquered every test

They climbed the tallest tree, revered by all the jungle,

The tree that all knew by its name, the tree called ”Mgungle Bungle”

No one had​​ reached the top; no one had reached its summit

For even those who could stomach heights, feared that they would plummet

To reach the top was Maurice’s dream, what an accomplishment, what a feat

But he knew if he were to do so, his fear he must now treat.​​ 

He would move up to the junior trees, within a single week

He really needed help now, advice he must now seek

He knew who he could go to, upon whom he could call,

“Reginald the Wise”, (Redge for short) the wisest monkey of them all.

So he set off in​​ search of Redge, through the jungle he would dredge

Until he came upon the cave, where Redge was said to stay

The only monkey he knew, who his fears he could allay

Reginald, was said, to be wiser than the owl,

​​ He wore upon his face, a permanent pensive​​ scowl

As Maurice approached his cave, the wise old monkey soon appeared

Quizzically looking at Maurice, and thoughtfully stroking his beard​​ 

Maurice I see it’s you, I’ve heard tales of your ability,

But I sense you approach me now, due to your fragility

Now don’t you worry child, each one of us has fear

It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it certainly isn’t queer

Maurice stood there stunned, how had Reginald known

That despite all of his talent, something had him thrown

He coughed and then he spoke up ”the​​ reason why I’m here,

Is that of heights and tall trees, I have a terrible fear.​​ 

My child I’m here to help, there’s no problem I can’t fix

Soon you’ll be swinging from “Mgungle Bungle” performing the finest of your tricks

But how can that be true? How will that come to pass

I cannot climb the junior trees, I truly am a farce.

I must climb Mgungle bungle, it really is essential

For otherwise I shall not reach, my true climbing potential

Why sssshh my child there’s no time to talk

Don’t you know you must crawl before you can walk.

Then you must walk, before you can run

This is quite simply the way it is done

Take little steps, set a little goal

Before you know it, you’ll be on a roll.  ​​​​ 

Forget that big tree, although it’s your intention

First upon smaller trees we must make an ascension

Take this junior tree; this is where we shall start

​​ And my child everyone has fears, you are quite far from a farce

You must face your fear, so that it may​​ recede

In taking this small step,​​ soon​​ you​​ will be freed.

At the​​ junior tree, Maurice took a glance

Immediately he was stunned into a terrified trance

He started to tremble, his knees became weak

He tried to say something, but no longer could speak

But he mustered all his courage, he gathered all his might

He relinquished all his fear and banished all his fright

He knew that he must face it, his worst and greatest dread

So that he could now progress, and put his fears to bed.

He approached the tree and took his first step

With anxiety and dread, he duly was met

But​​ daringly he pressed on, ignoring the feeling

Encouraged by Redge, he soon reached the tree’s ceiling.

What excitement he felt, pure exhilaration​​ 

He’d condemned his fears to total annihilation.

What’s our next step Redge, he joyfully yelled

There’s more of this fear that must duly be felled.

And so over the week the pair worked with all their might

As each tree that they tackled gained steadily in height

With each taller tree, they took the next step

And soon Maurice had banished his entire fret.

By​​ taking little steps and soon little strides

He’d tackled his fear and cast it aside.

He thanked wise old Redge and made his way home

He could barely believe just how brave he had grown.

That night he lay still, awaiting the morn

When he knew among the troop a legend would be born.

In the morning he awoke, the day was finally here

He was now a junior, with nothing left to fear

He proudly made his way, over to the junior trees

And he climbed right to the top, with effortlessness and with ease

But in him was more, he knew that he was ready

So he collected all his thoughts and made himself quite steady

He gathered all the troop and announced to all with glee

That he would be the first, to reach the top, of the “Mgungle Bungle” tree.

And so with the troop now gathered, he started his ascension

Reaching the top, his determined intention ​​ 

And boy how he rose, how he climbed with such ease

Soon he had surpassed all the surrounding trees.

Soon reaching the top, He was filled with such pride

What a joyous feeling, He felt deep inside ​​ 

The onlookers they clapped, they cheered and they roared

As in the towering canopy Maurice swung and he soared.​​ 

Maurice thought to himself how he’d conquered his fear

And how Reginald the Wise had made it so clear

To take little​​ steps was how it was done,

To learn first to walk, so that one day you’ll run.  ​​​​ 

When he returned back to the ground, he took a bow to one last cheer,

The awestruck crowd asked all at once,​​ 

How had he overcome such fear?

It really was quite simple; Reginald the Wise had made it clear

Taking little steps is how it’s done

For we must first learn to walk, so that one day we may run