Moonhag and the Monster Monkey

Moonhag and the Monster Monkey – A short and funny story of how a young vervet monkey, Kubuka, met and became friends with a young spotted hyena, Bazi. Children of about 5 and up will enjoy this simple tale, and might even learn a few facts about African wildlife – such as how many different creatures make their homes in ant hills, and who is Moonhag? Read on and find out!

By: Janet Keegans

Text from Moonhag and the Monster Monkey

Once upon a time in the bush, there lived a beautiful hyena female called Mpisa, who had just given birth to her first litter of cubs. Her clan had carefully chosen a good den. It was a large burrow underneath a tall ant hill. Every day the clan would bring food for the new mother, so that she could look after her little ones while they were very small.

After a few months, the clan leader, whose name was Lady Crocuta, wanted Mpisa to come out on the daily hunt again. The cubs were toddling about now, and could safely be left with auntie Moonhag. Moonhag was getting old; her night-sight was not as good as it once was, and she could no longer keep up with the rest of the clan when they were hunting or foraging. Often they would stay out all night, only coming back the next day. So Lady Crocuta decided that old Moonhag should stay at home in the den and look after the young ones.

There were three cubs in the litter, and their names were Balani, Bamani and Bazi. Balani and Bamani were girl cubs, and Bazi was the only boy. Auntie Moonhag soon found out that Bazi was a bit of a pawful. He was large for his age, strong and quite adventurous. Every day, auntie Moonhag would wait for mid-morning time, which is when things start to quieten down in the bush. Then she would lead the three cubs out of the den. She let them romp around in the sunshine and explore the area all around the ant hill, but they were never allowed to wander off, out of sight.

“The lions will get you,” she would say. The cubs would play with old bones, pretending to hunt and pounce on them. But a hyena’s favourite game, of course, is Tug o’ War. Balani and Bamani would each grip one end of a bone and pull and pull, giggling in their little high-pitched voices. They didn’t like to play Tug with Bazi, because he was stronger than they were and he always won. So Bazi often had no-one to play with and he had to amuse himself. He could try to catch grasshoppers, or see if he could sneak up on auntie Moonhag without her hearing him. She was a bit deaf, so this was almost too easy.

Bazi had great eyesight and hearing but best of all was his nose, which he used to discover things. The cemented earth walls of the ant hill, the grass, the heaps of dry leaves, and the bark of nearby trees all had a different smell. After a while he could close his eyes, pretend it was night-time, and find his way around using only his nose.

<end of sample>

See more of these books below

I’m Not a Crocodile - A poor lost creature with a mistaken identity, trapped in a smelly dark tunnel, swept away by a flood, will Goya find his way home? A fun decodable reader for Grade 3 / 7+ years.

The Cat’s House - Are our Cat's our pets or are we theirs? An age old question for cat owners. This cat thinks she knows the answer. A decodable reader for ages 7+ / Grade 3.

What’s Happened to Our Water - The animals find their water is becoming dirty and smelly and the fish are dying. What will they do? A cute beautifully illustrated story for young children with lots of fun sound effects. 

A Conversation Among Cats - Ever wonder what cats really get up to? Wouldn’t it be great to overhear their conversations This delightful picture book lets you in on their secrets!

Easy Funny Animals Colouring Book – 50 simple and fun animal colouring pages - This amazing coloring book offers a variety of lovely animal drawings that are simple for kids to color. It was carefully created with simplicity in mind. This book has a variety of beautiful animals that will capture their hearts, from soft kittens to playful puppies, from elegant lions to gorgeous dolphins. Young artists can enjoy hassle-free coloring simply because of the bold, easy-to-follow lines that are used to outline each illustration. The Simple, Fun, and Easy 50 Animal Illustrations Kids coloring books develop critical skills while also bringing joy and enjoyment. Coloring encourages self-expression and inventiveness while developing hand-eye coordination, focus, and fine motor abilities. It's a great method to effortlessly blend study and enjoyment.

A Cat, a Mouse, a Lizard, and an Owl – Tales from the Sanskrit - Continuing on the Tales from the Sanskrit, this is a lovely story about nature and nurture. The story explores how, when the cat is trapped in a snare and asks for help, the mouse helps her, the owl waits to catch the mouse, and the cat kills the lizard, ultimately demonstrating how self-interest and opportunism can determine the fate of others, and that nature is hard to overcome.

How Turtle Cracked His Shell - A short fable about how Turtle's shell came to look like it is cracked for kindergarten and early grades including activity pages.

Who Threw the Shoe? - Crocodile is hit on the head by a shoe while dozing. He goes on a quest to find the owner of the shoe, but will people be honest with him, and will he be honest with others? A great springboard to discuss topics about facing your fears and speaking up to those you perceive a ...

Animals Eating – Early Reader - In this Mustard Seed book, one learns two new nouns with a similar verb phrase, perfect for early readers, and also lots of fun for toddlers learning about different animals.

Lady Needed Space - When Lady is brought home from the animal shelter, she feels overwhelmed by the busy world around her, full of unfamiliar dogs, people, sounds, and smells. She doesn’t know what to do with her big feelings! But with love and patience from her human, April, Lady learns tricks to help her feel safe, and even makes ...