The Young Baboon

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 261, 31 July 1937, Page 9 (Supplement)

The Young Baboon

JUST when it was little Baboon’s ■ turn to slide and she sat high on a big elephant’s head, across the shining lake she saw the moon like a great golden apple floating on the water. The moon was pouring out moon gold in a wide stream far across the lake. “Oh!” cried the young baboon, forgetting that baboons do not swim. "Now I shall catch the moon, for it has fallen into the water and is melting! I shall taste it as I swim.” “Don’t swim! Don’t swim !” shouted all the other jungle children. .“Baboons never swim!” they chattered fiercely at her.

High on the big elephant’s great head Little Baboon looked at the wide lake and shivered.

Water, water, water, and baboons do not swim! “I love the moon, I want the moon. I can swim!” cried shivering Little Baboon.

WHOOOSH! down the big elephant’s trunk, and WAAASH! into the water slid Little Baboon. And she swam!

“Come quickly, come quickly!” screamed all the other little baboons to their fathers and their mothers. “Baboons never swim! And she’s swimming !”

Mummy Baboon and all the other big baboons came running down to the shining lake to see.

“See, see!” cried the little baboons and the big baboons. “She swims!” Little Baboon swam and swam. When she was far out in the lake she looked to see the moon again. But now the lake was only shining like a wide golden tray, and there was no moon on it! Again the moon was high in the sky, but the path of moon gold still spread far over the lake. “Oh!” said Little Baboon in surprise. “Oh! So that is where old moons go. There’s a new moon in the sky and the old moon fell into the lake and melted. Now I shall be a-golden baboon just the colour of the moon, for I have been swimming in moon water!” And she swam back to shore in haste to show her mother.

“Mummy Baboon, Mummy BaboonI” she called from the golden mist that rose from the water as she swam. “When you see me, I’ll be the colour of the moon! The old moon fell into the lake and melted. Now I’ll be a golden baboon!” All the jungle children laughed except Mummy Baboon. “Ha-ha-ha 1 Ha-ha-ha! Baboons are never golden!” said the ibig baboons and the little baboons all together. Then nobody laughed, nobody spoke, nobody stirred! For out from the waters of the shining lake walked a little golden baboon!

Mummy Baboon held out her arms and said, “Is this little baboon whose hair is ’as golden as the moon my little baboon?” All the other little baboons were watching from, the big elephants’ great heads. Thej’ leaped to the ground and chattered and sang, “She swam, she swam! She’s golden !” * Then they all came crowding around Little Golden Baboon, “Golden, golden, golden as the moon! I want to be golden. I want to tie golden too 1” shouted every little baboon.

“Then swim quickly In the melted moon I” cried Little Golden Baboon.

Every little baboon rushed to the very edge of the shining lake. But every little baboon trembled and shook, and shivered ami chattered, “Baboons do not swim! Baboons do not swim ” So all the other little baboons were still just seraggly-brown in colour. Only Little Baboon, who loved the moon was round and soft as thistledown and golden as the jungle moon—round and soft and golden as no other baboon ever was!