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MONKEYS IN THE CITY

-creative wrintingThere once was a small city in a far-away land inhabited by animals. They all lived in
harmony and each species had a job. The deer were in charge of the city and they made the rules,
being the smartest and most kind of all. The cats were scientists, trying to find new technologies
to make life easier for everybody; the ants were great builders, being able to finish buildings in
no time; the bears worked in the music industry; the lions took care of delivering food and so on.
The city had also had great doctors. The monkeys have taken care of others medical
problems for generations. They were the best, because they were incredibly intelligent and
skilled in that field. They were the finest in keeping everybody healthy, but they had a very
upsetting problem. They were always throwing the banana peels on the floor or on the street,
causing the other citizens to slip on them and injure themselves.
Years have passed and the monkeys kept making more and more victims because of their
inconsiderate habit. The animals had become sick of the monkeys, and they decided that they
could not stand it anymore.
The rhinos, who worked as police men, were the ones who were the most outraged by the
monkeys actions and insensitivity of peoples discontent. So they decided to act and call out a
meeting in which all could be settled. They announced the mayor, one of the deer in charge of
the city, and the monkeys that they wanted justice.
At the meeting, the monkeys were very disturbed by the peoples discontent and
ingratitude:
-We do so much for the inhabitants of this city, and all you do is complain about this
insignificant matter! You all should be a little more careful not to slip on our banana peels and
everything will be just fine! We dont want to change our manners! Its a small price to pay if
you want to have such great doctors!
-We will not have it anymore! The problem is with you, not with the rest of us. You
should become conscious of the fact that you are living in a community and you cant do what
you want all the time, the rhinos resisted.
While the situation was starting to tense up, the deer remained calm and started to explain
to the rhinos that they should understand the monkeys and let them be, but the kind words only
made the matters worse for the angry rhinos:
-No! If all of us can obey the law and live in harmony, making sure we dont bother
anyone, why cant they? They should leave or we should kick them out.

As the rhinos uttered the words, the monkeys made the decision of quitting their jobs and
leaving, being really hurt that they would even consider that:
-Thats it. Well leave you here to your perfect town and never return again! Good luck
replacing us, youll be sorry about this.
Upset by the way the quarrel had ended, the deer remained silent, knowing there was
nothing left to say and that the situation will not remain resolved for long. The monkeys packed
their bags and decided to travel the world and see if everybody was as strict regarding banana
peels or if they just lived in the wrong place all their lives.
The deer then suggested that the elephants should be the new generation of doctors, due
to their ability to cram all the information they needed in a short period of time. The elephants
accepted the suggestion and left their jobs as teachers to become doctors. But the elephants could
not meet the set of skills needed to perform surgeries, because of their impractical limbs. They
tried and tried, but failed every time. Also, the fact that they left their job as teachers was not
good for the newest generation of animals to come. The rhinos were now beginning to realize
what they had done. They started regretting and worrying about the lives of the citizen, putting
them at greater risk by chasing away the monkeys than just accepting who they were ; accepting
that they were different individuals and that you cant force anybody to be someone theyre not.
In the meantime, the monkeys had also started to realize that time away was not like they
would expect. Animals everywhere were acting even more disturbed by the monkeys throwing
their banana peels on the street. They became aware that other monkeys didnt share their habit.
They missed their job and their city and they were disappointed that nobody from home reached
to them with an apology. They wanted to go back home, but wouldnt admit it out of
stubbornness. One of the monkeys, Cheeks, seeing that nothing good came from abandoning
their city, started talking to its companions persuading them to try disposing of the banana peels
in the garbage from then on. The other monkeys wouldnt recede from their routine, but Cheeks
hadnt given up. He started to clean up after his companions and as the days passed, more and
more monkeys began to follow his lead. In no time, every single last one of them had changed
their way.
Back home, the deer had decided to put their foot down and end this war that was only
going to make things worse. They had let the citizen decide the faith of the city and that led to
nothing good. So they asked the rhinos to apologize to the monkeys and ask them to come back
and resume their job as doctors. The rhinos were more than happy to welcome back the monkeys
back in their city and reestablish the balance in the city.
After their return, the monkeys surprised the inhabitants of the city with their newly
revised habits so much that everybody started to question their routine. It was such an
extraordinary change in this societys way of viewing life that even a saying came out of it:
peeling off the unappealing.

-argumentationThe reason why I have chosen to present this fable is because monkeys are extremely
similar to humans and are the animals that come the closest to human behavior, being able to suit
best the role of doctors. Deer were chosen for leadership because I find them very kind and
intelligent, and rhinos played the part of fighting off the monkeys because they are very shorttempered animals and have personalities that differ from one rhino to another, thereby being
adequate to represent the rest of the animals of the city.
One crucial image I have tried to represent is the one with the altercation between the
men of law and the arrogant doctors. Both sides learned a lot from that altercation: the rhinos
learned that not everybody is the same in this world and that sometimes you need to respect and
even appreciate the differences between individuals, because thats what makes up an original
person; the elephants have concluded that they were not cut for the job because they had
different skills and talents than the monkeys and they went back to what they did best. What the
monkeys have learned is interpretable from my point of view.
First of all, they learned that change comes from within; by the power of example, one by
one started to change themselves and thus making life easier for themselves, being much more
happy and content with the way they lived now like for like when they were inconsiderate.
Second of all, I believe that another lesson could be learned, namely that sometimes you
have to go through a rough patch in order to come out wiser, stronger and more in touch with
yourself and those surrounding you.
Furthermore, another debatable phrase is the closing line pealing the unappealing
which could mean that in order to be our best version we have to cut the bad habits, ideas, traits
to the core. Or it can mean an impossible quest, the fact that we need to accept ourselves the way
we are and shouldnt try to change it for anyone.

Oana Nistor
Anul II
EN-NO