Another story inspired by Tara and Tyler. It badly needs an illustrator, but for now just use your imagination!
The zoo in Simpleville was nothing special. It didn’t even have a name. Everyone simply called it The Zoo. And anyone who had been there thought it was a boring zoo. Sure there were animals! There were all kinds of animals right up to the monkeys and the giraffes at the back end of The Zoo. There were elephants and zebras and parakeets and bears and lions. But they were all ordinary and boring. So people stopped visiting. And the animals got lonely and depressed.
No one visited the zoo anymore—that is, no one except Tyler and his sister Tara. Every Sunday Tyler and Tara went to the zoo with a dollar each. And every Sunday they bought a vanilla ice cream cone and a strawberry ice cream cone from Sheldon the Ice Cream man. And every Sunday Tyler, Tara and Sheldon the Ice Cream Man walked through the zoo trying to cheer the animals up.
“Good Morning Elephant. Can we slide down your trunk to make you smile?” But Elephant just hung his head and dragged his trunk along the grass.
“Hey there, Zebra. Can we paint your white stripes black and your black stripes white to make you smile?” But Zebra just hung her head and chewed on her tail.
“Howdy, Parakeet. Can we sing a song with you to make you smile? But Parakeet just hung his head and hid his face under his wing.
“Hello, Bear. Can we tickle you to make you smile?” But Bear just hung her head and covered her tickle spots with her big paws.
“Hiya Lion. Can we play hide and seek in your mane to make you smile? But Lion just hung his head and let out a long, sad growl.
But no matter how hard Tyler, Tara, and Sheldon the Ice Cream man tried, the animals continued to look sad and lonely.
One hot Sunday Tyler and Tara walked by the monkey cage slurping their ice cream cones like they always did. And the monkeys were very sad like they always were. Tara felt sorry for the monkeys and stretched her hand between the bars to share her ice cream with a cute little baby monkey.
The baby monkey grabbed the cone and hurriedly climbed up a tree. One big slurp and the monkey liked the cool mushiness of the ice cream. He liked it so much he tipped it all over on top of his furry head!
The giraffes next door had never seen ice cream on a monkey before! The tallest daddy giraffe stuck his neck over the fence to get a better look. He liked what he smelled, so he stuck out his long tongue and took a lick. He really liked what he tasted, so he took another lick and another and another. And when the giraffe was done, the baby monkey had a new hair-do.
Tyler laughed. Tara giggled. And Sheldon the Ice Cream Man yelled “Whoo Whoo!” They ran out and yelled out to everyone on the street: “Come see the little Elvis Monkey. Come see the little Elvis Monkey.”
One by one, people from the street came into the zoo. They all came to see the monkey with the funky new hair-do!
From then on, Tyler, Tara, and Sheldon began each day with ice cream cones and a visit with the monkeys. They left the rest to the imagination of the giraffes.
People now began coming from everywhere to the zoo in Simpleville. The animals were no longer sad, they no longer hung their heads. They were happy and proud of their special zoo with the funky monkey hair-dos.
Every day the giraffes did a different monkey hair-do.
On Sundays it was the Elvis.
On Mondays it was the Bob.
On Tuesdays it was the Mohawk.
On Wednesdays it was the Beehive.
On Thursdays it was the Poodle.
On Fridays it was the Afro.
On Saturdays it was everyone’s favorite—the comb-over just like some grandpas do.
The Zoo in Simpleville was no longer just The Zoo. It was no longer boring. It was now the new and exciting Funky Monkey Hair-Do Zoo!
Says Fyl 