All Monkeys Love Bananas!
Published Date: 25 Feb 2020
Naomi's illustration
In the most beautiful part of Wales, right at the top on the tip of the North West coast, there is the Llyn Zoo. It is home to three monkeys: Cheeky Charlie, Happy Harry and Magic Mark, who just enjoy having fun all day long.
Their best friend is a little boy called George who visits them every week. He always wears some sort of hat. One day when Phil, the zookeeper, called the monkeys for their special treat – bananas dipped in chocolate - Happy Harry and Magic Mark came rolling over straight away. But where was Cheeky Charlie? By the time he arrived, there were none left! Phil was a little worried as Cheeky Charlie hadn’t got his snack the last few times. Charlie must be ill, he thought – all monkeys love bananas!
So Phil arranged for Naomi, the vet, to come and see Cheeky Charlie. Naomi listened to Cheeky Charlie’s heart and chest and looked at his tummy but there was nothing wrong with them. Then she told him a joke but he didn’t laugh. "I wonder if you’re not hearing things," said Naomi. "Lets do a test!" Vet Naomi discovered that Cheeky Charlie was deaf in one ear.
The next day Cheeky Charlie wore his hearing aid for the first time. It was yellow and blue – his favourite colours. When Happy Harry saw it, he kindly smiled but Magic Mike pointed at Charlie and laughed. Cheeky Charlie felt sad and scared.
The sun was shining and George came to visit them that day. "It’s too warm for a hat today and it’s making my head itch," said George. He took his hat off. To Cheeky Charlie’s surprise, he saw that George had a hearing aid too! Cheeky Charlie felt much happier.
Soon it was snack time and who arrived first to the bananas today? Yes, it was Cheeky Charlie wearing the biggest smile in the whole zoo.
One of our judges Julia Donaldson CBE said: "An entertaining story, told with humour. The relationship between the deaf boy and the deaf monkey was touching."
