On a bright, starry night, a group of playful monkeys were chattering and swinging in the tall trees. Little Miko, the smallest monkey, was peering down into an old well.

"Oh no!" he gasped, his eyes wide. "Friends, come quickly! The beautiful, round moon has fallen into the well!"

All the other monkeys scampered over. They looked down and, sure enough, there was a shiny, round moon shimmering in the dark water.

"We must save it!" cried a brave monkey named Bo. "It will get all wet and sad down there!"

"But how?" asked another, scratching her head.

The oldest monkey, Papa Grayfur, who was usually napping, woke up with a start. But before he could say anything, Bo had an idea. "I know! We'll make a monkey chain! I'll hold onto a strong branch, and you can hold my tail, and the next monkey can hold your tail, and so on, until the last monkey can reach the moon!"

What a clever idea, they all thought!

So, Bo gripped a sturdy branch hanging over the well. Another monkey grabbed Bo's tail. Then another grabbed that monkey's tail, and another, and another, until a long chain of monkeys dangled down towards the water. Miko, being the smallest, was at the very end.

"Okay, Miko!" called Bo from the top. "Reach for the moon!"

Miko carefully stretched out his little hand. He wiggled his fingers and just as he touched the shiny moon in the water… SPLASH! The moon broke into a hundred wobbly, watery pieces!

"Oh dear!" cried Miko. "I broke the moon!"

The monkeys in the chain all started to chatter in dismay. "It's gone! It's ruined!"

Just then, Papa Grayfur, who had finally made his way to the edge of the well, let out a soft chuckle. He pointed a long, wrinkly finger up towards the dark sky.

"Silly little monkeys," he said gently. "Look up there."

All the monkeys, still dangling, craned their necks. And there, high above them, big and bright and perfectly round, was the real moon, shining beautifully in the night sky.

"The moon in the well," Papa Grayfur explained, "was just its shiny picture, like when you see your face in a puddle."

The monkeys looked up at the real moon, then down at the rippling water where the "picture moon" had been. They slowly climbed back up, one by one, feeling a little bit foolish, but also a little bit wiser. They all giggled, realizing they had tried to rescue a reflection. From that night on, they always remembered to look up and think carefully before jumping to conclusions, especially about moons in wells!

1282 Views