Monkey Business

 

Not long ago, I found myself walking through the jungle.  I say walking but it really wasn’t.  Every step was a struggle.  I was fighting to get through very thick sections of branches, massive leaves and of course spider webs.

That’s when I heard that awful cry, like some animal was in desperate need of assistance.  I altered my course just a little, so I was now heading towards the sound, thinking maybe I could help.

As I came to the edge of a clearing I saw a very large gorilla sitting on the ground, sort of rocking back and forth in pain.  The last thing I wanted to do was to put myself in danger, but then again, I couldn’t let the poor thing suffer.  I approached cautiously, though not quietly.  I didn’t want to frighten him, I just thought if he knew I was coming up behind him he could see that I meant no harm.

He turned slightly and saw me heading his way.  I held out my arms, showing I had no weapons of any kind.  Remembering from some years back that a lady was teaching sign language to an ape, I thought I would simply use gestures to show I wanted to help.

The painful expression on his face tore at my heart and his eyes did not look fierce but sad.  He was holding one of his feet with both hands, still rocking back and forth.  His deep voice moaned as he watched me.  Soon I was close enough that I could smell him.  I was not prepared for that, but I kept approaching slowly.

From what I could see, it looked like he might have broken a toenail, or claw, as the case may be.  He must have snagged it on something and it snapped.

I tried to remember what I had back at camp that could help me repair his toenail…