A long time ago, monkeys looked very different to how they look today. They had hair all over their bodies and on their faces. They had long snouts, pointy ears and long, bushy tails just like most other forest animals. The only thing was that the monkeys loved people and wanted to be like them. They loved how people dressed, they loved their houses, and most of all, they loved the people’s festivals. The monkeys wanted to do everything people did.

So one day, they had a meeting of monkeys and decided to send Inoki, the gorilla, to the top of the mountain to beg God, Eledumare, to turn all of them into people. Inoki set off immediately and travelled for a whole day. When he finally arrived at the top of the mountain, he lay prostrate on the ground and greeted Eledumare. Inoki then explained why he had been sent. “Please make us people” he begged. Eledumare, who had made every animal perfect, asked “Why don’t you want to be yourselves?” “We’re tired of climbing trees all day. We want to walk, talk and dress like people so that we can celebrate festivals with them” Inoki explained.

Eledumare thought about the request and decided to answer their prayer. “I will place a pot of Òri (Shea butter cream) on top of this mountain in seven days. Get here before noon on the day, and rub the cream all over your body to become like people.” Inoki was excited. “Don’t be late!” Eledumare warned Inoki as he ran off. “We won’t”, he promised.

When the monkeys heard the news they were overjoyed. They dreamed of all the things they would do when they were finally people. On the sixth day, they prepared for their journey to the mountain. They were so excited that they started celebrating on the way to the mountain. The monkeys played, ate, danced and sang all day! Drawing the attention of the other forest animals as they sang loudly.

“A o d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
A o d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
(we’ll become people today – we’ll be people)

Obo a d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
Inoki a d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
(monkeys will become people today – we’ll be people)
(Gorillas will become people today – we’ll be people)

A o d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
(we’ll become people today – we’ll be people)

Aaya a d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
Edun a d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
(Red Colobus monkeys will become people today – we’ll be people)
(White Colobus monkeys will become people today – we’ll be people)

A o d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
A o d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
(we’ll become people today – we’ll be people)”

The monkeys sang and danced long into the night. Then they decided to rest for the night because it was too dark to travel up the mountain. When the monkeys woke up the next day, they realised that it was almost noon! They had made themselves so tired from all the singing and dancing that they overslept. Now, there was not enough time to get to the top of the mountain in time. So they all started to run. They ran as fast as they could. They ran as fast as they could to the top of the mountain. As they ran, they prayed that the òri would still be there and that they hadn’t missed their chance to become people.

When they arrived at the top of the mountain, they found a clay pot, but most of the òri in it had melted away. Seeing a tiny bit of it left at the bottom of the pot, the desperate monkeys rushed to get the remaining òri for themselves. In their rush, they smashed the clay pot into pieces. The oil on the pieces of the pot was only enough for them to rub on one or two parts of their bodies. Some monkeys rubbed it on their faces, some on their tails and bums but then they ran out of òri.

The monkeys were amazed to see their hands and faces become human-like. Some even had their tails disappear completely. But as there wasn’t enough of the cream to complete their transformation, the monkeys went back to Eledumare. “Eledumare, please give us some more of that wonderful cream”, they pleaded. But Eledumare, who had been watching the whole time, sent them away from his mountain. “Because you did not follow my command, you must now live with the consequences of your action.” And so from that day on, monkeys and apes have looked like people, especially their hands and faces.

The End.

The Moral of the Story:

This story teaches us that we are all different but perfect. It also teaches us to be happy with who we are and to be wise. If the monkeys had not thrown a party, they wouldn’t have overslept and there would have been enough of the cream for all of them.