The Monkeys Disgrace

The Monkeys' Disgrace

Three monkeys sat in a coconut tree
Discussing things as they're said to be.
Said one to another, "Now listen, you two,
There's a certain rumor that cannot be true,
That man descends from our noble race -
The very idea is a disgrace.




No monkey ever deserted his wife,
Starved her babies and ruined her life;
And you've never known a mother monk
To leave her babies with others to bunk,
Or pass them on from one to another
Til they scarcely know who is their mother.

And another thing you'll never see -
A monk build a fence around a coconut tree
And let the coconuts go to waste,
Forbidding all other monks to taste.
Why, if I put a fence around this tree,
Starvation would force you to steal from me. 




Here's another thing a monk won't do -
Go out at night and get on a stew,
Or use a gun or club or knife
To take some other monkey's life;




Yes, Man Descended - That ornery cuss -
But, brother, he didn't descend from us!"
     - anonymous

One source attributes The Monkeys Disgrace poem to Nettie Bates Thomas, another to Ogden Nash.   The charm, however, is attributed to me.