Once upon a time there was a very mischievous little monkey, who lived in a big banyan tree, and his name was Jacky. And in the jungle below there lived a huge, fierce old lion and lioness. Now Jacky was a very teasing monkey. He used to 

climb down the long trailing roots of the banyan tree, and pull the tails of all the other creatures, and then scamper up again, before they could catch him. And he was so bold, he even pulled the tails of the lion and lioness one day. This made them so angry that they went to a grim old bear they knew, 

and they arranged with him that he should come with them to the banyan tree, when Jacky was away. So he came, and standing on the lion's head, he gnawed the roots through till they were so thin they would not bear a jerk. And next time Jacky pulled the lion's tail he gave a great tug--the roots broke, and down fell Jacky, into the huge, fierce grim old lion's jaws!!

"Come here, my dear!" roared the lion.

The lioness came and looked at Jacky. "He is a very thin monkey," said she; "we had better put him in the larder for a week to fatten him, and then ask Mr. Bear to dinner." So they put him in the larder, which was just a little piece at the end of their cave, built up with big stones, and while the lion built it up,

the lioness lay ready to spring on him if he tried to escape. It was very dark and very cold, and Jacky did not like it at all. They left a little window to feed him by, and every day they gave him as many bananas as he liked, because they knew monkeys ate bananas, and they could get them easily. Then the lioness wrote a leaf-letter to the bear, asking him to dinner, which he, of course, accepted with pleasure.

But Jacky did not get fat, and the reason of that was that he soon tired of bananas, and only ate one every day. He gave all the others to the rats.

The lion and lioness were rather worried because Jacky did not get fat, so one day they stole in to listen to him talking to the rats, and as it happened they were just talking about bananas.

"I am tired of bananas," said Jacky. "I wish I could get a cocoa-nut." "It would make you very fat," said the rats. "Yes," said Jacky, "and I don't want to be fat for those old lions." Ho, ho!" said the lions. "A cocoa-nut will make him fat; we'll get him one at once." But when they came to the tree they could not reach a single cocoa-nut!