I am going to take you far away and long ago.
I am going to take you far away to India, and long ago to when tigers and elephants and other wild creatures still roamed free in the jungles of that distant land. Ah - long ago that was...
There, in those jungles, was a small village. It was a happy village, until... until there came to live in an old broken-down house at the top of a hill outside the village, a MONSTER!
This was no ordinary monster. This monster had four mouths, each with very sharp teeth. And do you know why this monster had four mouths each with very sharp teeth... ? He had four mouths each with very sharp teeth so that he could eat four people at once. Oh, he liked pigs and dogs and goats as well, but mostly that monster liked eating PEOPLE ~ four at one sitting.
Once each week that monster would come down the hill into the village and eat four people. Now the villagers knew that this couldn’t go on, or very soon there would be none of them left. That monster had to be killed. So they sent their bravest warrior up the hill with a sword to kill the monster.
He never came back. All they found of him was a pile of bones and a bent sword. After that, none of the other grown ups would go up that hill to fight the monster. "Not LIKELY!" they said.
Now there was a boy in the village about your age - called Ba Kho. And Ba Kho said, "Why don’t we all go up the hill and fight the monster? If we all fight him together, surely we can kill him, even if he has got four mouths all with very sharp teeth... "
"Not LIKELY !" said the grown ups.
So Ba Kho said, "Well, if you won’t help me, I’ll find someone who will," and he took his father’s axe and he set off up the hill towards the broken down house where the monster lived.
He hadn’t gone far before a tiny snake came squiggling across the track in front of him. Ba Kho told the tiny snake about the monster, then said, "Will you help me?"
And the tiny snake said, "I’ll help you. Never did like monsters."
So the tiny snake came squiggling along behind Ba Kho as he went on up the hill. And he hadn’t gone much further when he saw a bunch of coconuts hanging there in a palm tree. He told the coconuts about the monster, then said, "Will you help me?"
And the coconuts said, "We’ll help you. Never did like monsters."
So the coconuts jumped down out of the tree and came rolling along behind the tiny snake who was squiggling along behind Ba Kho as he went on up the hill. And he hadn’t gone much further when he saw a nest of bees hanging in another tree. He told the bees about the monster, then said, "Will you help me?"
And the bees said, "We’ll help you. Never did like monsters."
So the bees came swarming along behind the coconuts who were rolling along behind the tiny snake who was squiggling along behind Ba Kho as he went on up the hill. And he hadn’t gone much further when a little fox went trotting across the track in front of him. He told the little fox about the monster and said, "Will you help me?"
And the little fox said, "I’ll help you. Never did like monsters."
So the little fox came trotting along behind the bees who were swarming along behind the coconuts who were rolling long behind the tiny snake who was squiggling along behind Ba Kho as he went on up the hill. And he hadn’t gone much further when he saw a bunch of bananas hanging in another tree. He told the bananas about the monster and said, "Will you help me?"
And the bananas said, "We’ll help you. Never did like monsters."
So the bananas jumped down from their tree and came hopping along behind the little fox who was trotting along behind the bees who were swarming along behind the coconuts who were rolling along behind the tiny snake who was squiggling along behind Ba Kho as he went on up the hill UNTIL ... Until they came to the broken down house where the monster lived.
And there they hid in the bushes while they waited for it to get dark, and as they waited, they decided what they would do. But how can one small boy, one tiny snake, a bunch of coconuts, a swarm of bees, a little fox, and a bunch of bananas kill a monster with four mouths each with very sharp teeth... ? Well, here’s what they did...
As soon as it was dark and the monster was asleep - and they could tell he was asleep because he was snoring like a factory - the tiny snake squiggled in and hid under the monster’s bed. The little fox hid outside the hen-house. The bees hid outside the back door. The coconuts? They jumped up on the roof. And the bananas? What could they do? Well, they took off their yellow jackets and spread them all over the porch outside the front door, at the top of the steps. And at the foot of the steps waited Ba Kho with his father’s axe.
And as soon as it began to get light, INTO the hen house dashed the little fox, woke up all the hens! And they made such a squawking that they woke up the monster...
"WHO’S THAT IN MY HEN HOUSE... ?" he roared, "I’LL HAVE HIM FOR MY BREAKFAST... !"
He jumped out of bed, and as soon as he put his foot on the floor the tiny snake BIT him on the toe.
"YEEEOOOWWW !!" he cried and went limping off down the corridor and out through the back door. And as soon as he poked his head out of the door, BANG BANG BANG down jumped the coconuts onto his head.
"YEEEOOOWWW !!" he cried, and as he put his hands up to cover his head, the bees came swarming across the yard and STUNG him all over his face and all round his eyes so that he could hardly see.
"YEEEOOOWWW !!" he cried, and went stumbling back down the corridor and out through the front door - where the banana skins were waiting for him... And you know what happens when you tread on a banana skin, don’t you... ?
Right!
"WOOOSSSHHH went his feet from under him.
"BAAANNNGGG went his head on the porch floor.
"BUMPETY BUMPETY BUMP," went his unconscious body down the steps.
"SWISSSSHHH !!" went the axe of Ba Kho.
And ROLLING ROLLING ROLLING went the head of the monster, down the hill and through the village...
Where there was much rejoicing.
And that just goes to show what you young folk can do if you all help each other - especially when the grown ups don’t want to know!