Monkey Baby Bon Bon woke early one morning to a strange stillness in the jungle. The usual chatter of birds was replaced by the soft dripping of water from the treetops. Overnight, a powerful storm had swept through, flooding the lower valleys and washing away much of the fruit that the animals had gathered for the season. Bon Bon rubbed his sleepy eyes and climbed to the top of the tallest branch he could reach. His heart thumped—his favorite patch of bright green watermelons was nowhere to be seen.
Determined not to give up, Bon Bon set out on a journey to find the missing melons. With his tiny backpack and a leaf-woven rope, he swung from tree to tree, calling out to friends along the way. First he reached Tika the parrot, who perched high above the floodwaters. “I saw them!” Tika squawked. “The water carried the watermelons toward the Rainbow Ravine!”
Bon Bon thanked her and hurried on. Rainbow Ravine was beautiful, but also dangerous after heavy rain. Paths turned slippery, and hidden pools formed between rocks. When Bon Bon arrived, he found the ravine shimmering with reflected sunlight—but no melons in sight. Instead, he spotted a family of turtles struggling to climb out of a swirling puddle. Without hesitating, Bon Bon tossed down his leaf rope and pulled each turtle to safety. “Thank you, little monkey,” the oldest turtle said. “As a reward, I’ll tell you what we saw. A cluster of green orbs floated past us toward the Cactus Canyon.”
Cactus Canyon! Bon Bon gulped. The canyon was prickly and hot, but he pressed on. As he crossed the canyon’s edge, he finally heard a familiar sound: thump… thump. Watermelons! The flood had carried them into a pocket of soft sand between tall cacti. They were safe, just stuck.
Bon Bon worked carefully, using his rope to pull each watermelon out without bursting it. It took all afternoon, but soon he had gathered the entire patch. With help from a passing herd of gentle deer, he transported the melons back to the jungle.
