Jungle Doctor

Here is the first of my Phil 4 posts. This was one of my favorite fables growing up, and I find this both excellent and praiseworthy. This is from the Jungle Doctor’s Hippo Happenings book by Paul White.
Here’s some background stuff:
There is a doctor working in the jungle & every night he tells a story under the buyu tree to the kids who come to listen. He uses different animals in the jungle as characters in his stories. Some of the characters in the stories are:
· Hifi - monkey
· Nyani - monkey
· Toto - monkey
· Boohoo - hippo
· Dic-Dic - small antelope
· Nhembo - elephant

Enjoy!

‘How to Take the Weight out of Burdens’

One day in the jungle, Hifi, Toto’s plump relative, made a mistake of finding three dead limbs, one after another. When the first broke, he swung onto another branch; and as that broke all so, his tail tightened around a thick old limb that looked strong. Unfortunately it had been partly eaten by white ants. Hifi hurled down and landed safely but uncomfortably in a thornbush. Only a second later the dead limb landed bang! on his monkey head.
” Er, ” said Hippo, ” it’s just as well it was only his head. He might have broken his leg, you know. “
Hifi lay on the grass, rolling his eyes.
Dic-Dic said, ” I’ll carry him back to his family tree.”
But it wasn’t as easy as he thought, for Hifi was chubby and heavy, and he riggled and kept calling for his uncle Nyani and demanding a banana in a weak voice.
Dic-Dic’s muscles started to ache as he battled along over the long jungle path. His steps grew slower and his legs began to wobble.
” Er, ” said Hippo as he stumbled along behind, ” he must be rather heavy. You’re bending in the-um-middle, you know. “
Dic-Dic gasped. ” He is heavy. My neck’s aching and my back’s nearly breaking. ” He staggered into the shade of what looked like a great gray boulder and put Hifi down. Monkey groaned and made loud noises of suffering and louder requests for food.
“He’s rather heavy for a monkey, ” said Boohoo.
Dic-Dic flop down and panted, but said nothing.
” Er, ” remarked Boohoo, ” would it be help-ful to drag him behind you on a banana leaf or something? “
Dic-Dic tried this, but Hifi yelled very loudly indeed.
Boohoo shook his head slowly and observed, ” er–no good. It seems to be un-com-fort-able for him.”
He looked around carefully and said ” Um” several times, but no ideas came into his mind. So he wrinkled up his forehead and tried to look important.
Dic-Dic sat there thinking how long was the road and how heavy was the monkey.
Hifi’s groans became louder. The sun was very hot. Boohoo’s head was nodding. Dic-Dic was in the middle of a sigh which abruptly turned into a gulp, for the shade in which he sat started to move. Hifi nearly jumped out of his monkey skin when a long snakelike shadow moved toward them.
But Dic-Dic knew at once that it was the trunk of Elephant, whose eyes twinkled at him, and whose deep voice said, ” Would you like to ride on my shoulders, Dic-Dic? They are very strong.”
Dic-Dic nodded gratefully. Hifi climbed onto Dic-Dic’s back again and Elephant picked up small Antelope and the monkey burden and put them on his shoulder.
Soon Dic-Dic was making contended noises as they moved swiftly through the jungle. A cool breeze fanned his face.
Boohoo followed behind mumbling, ” Er–very useful. I’d the have done the same, Dic-Dic, you know, but hippo’s are at a great dis–dis–ad-vant–” he swallowed slowly. ” Er–it is not so easy when you haven’t got a trunk.”
As he lumbered along he noticed that Antelope’s back was bending again in the same way as it had before. The beginning of many thoughts started to wander about in his head.
” Er, ” He mumbled, ” er–Dic-Dic–er–are you–? “
For awhile Dic-Dic had felt the same old ache returning to his spine. He was struggling with all his strength to support Hifi, who was complaining in a very loud and irritating way.
All at once Dic-Dic realized that his back could not keep on carrying Hifi for much longer. The sound of Boohoo’s voice made him turn a little. At once the weight of his monkey burden shifted and seemed to break him in two. He started to slide. His feet tried to grip Elephant’s neck, but they couldn’t. He was slipping, slipping. ” Help! ” he gasped. ” Help! “
In a flash the long, strong trunk swung up and held him and his burden steadily.
” Why are you still carrying Hifi? ” came in a whisper from Elephant.
Dic-Dic couldn’t think of an answer.
Boohoo’s voice came vaguely from behind, ” er–look out Dic-Dic, you nearly call–that is, collap–er–you nearly fell off just then.” Elephant said quietly, ” Dic-Dic, you are trusting me with your own weight. Why not rest Hifi on my shoulders as well? There’s plenty of room.”
” Er–yes, ” came hippo’s voice, ” I was going to make that–um–sugg–er– sugg-es-tion, that’s the word isn’t it? I was going to say, why don’t you, that is–”
He stopped as he saw Dic-Dic lean back gratefully against the strength of Elephant’s trunk and say, ” But, Nhembo, it’s so kind of you to carry me, how can I ask you to carry my load as well? “
Elephant chuckled. ” Think carefully Dic-Dic. Think carefully.” The twinkle came into his eyes again as a very little while later he felt Hifi been gently placed on the spot just in front of Dic-Dic.
They moved on for a long way. The sun was still very hot. The path was still uphill, but Hifi was making the soft noises of monkey storing, and Dic-Dic put his head on Elephant’s trunk and rubbed very gently with his chin. He felt his happiness grow as a most comforting answering ripple came along the very strong muscles that supported him and his burden so carefully.
“Um, ” came Hippo’s voice, ” why didn’t you put Hifi on Elephant’s back at the beginning? “
Dic-Dic did not answer but wondered just why he hadn’t done so himself.
He was very grateful when Nhembo said, ” When you have other burdens in times to come, do not again cling to monkey wisdom! ”