3213. Monkey business © Bruce Goodman 22 May 2025

It was such a status symbol for Lucinda to have a pet monkey and to teach it tricks. Observers would be astounded. It had learned to do the vacuuming. It had learned to help clear the snow on the path during winter. Lucinda didn’t trust it with the lawn mower but it did rake up the leaves. The monkey’s latest trick was to race ahead with the house key when Lucinda was coming back from shopping. She would arrive home loaded with packages and it was well-nigh impossible to get the key and open the door without dropping a parcel or two. Now she simply had to give the monkey the key. It would race ahead and open the door. Then one day it taught itself a different trick. It raced ahead and unlocked the door. It then ducked inside and relocked the door. The entire house was barricaded. Lucinda quickly discovered a monkey doesn’t like to unlearn a trick. Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story