The Strange Stick
âAre you ready for our walk?â asked Tugg.
âWhere to, Tugg?â asked Teeny.
âWherever our twinkle toes take us,â said Tugg, whistling away.
âListen!â Teeny said.
She heard the jungle birds sing and sighed, âI wish I could make beautiful music like that.â
Teeny looked so sad that Tugg decided he would help his friend get her wish.
In the clearing, Tugg saw BooBoo the baboon hitting a bamboo stick against a tree.
The gorilla called, âWhat is that, BooBoo? A digging stick?â
âNo,â said BooBoo, ânot sharp enough.â
âA drinking straw?â
âIt has holes in it, Tugg. It is useless!â The baboon threw the stick away.
Tugg picked up the stick and looked at it.
He thought for a minute and then laid it on the jungle path where Teeny would be sure to find it.
âHey, Tugg, what is this?â Teeny asked.
âMaybe Violet will know,â said Tugg.
âWarthogs are very smart.â
âViolet,â said Tugg, âwhat is this piece of wood?â
âA backscratcher for a lion,â said Violet.
âLions just roll in the dirt when they want to scratch an itch,â Teeny said.
Teeny pointed the stick to the sky and looked through it.
âWhat could it be?â she wondered.
âTry blowing on the end and see what happens,â said Tugg.
Teeny blew. Squeak, squawk, screech.
âI like it!â Teeny said. âSomeday, Tuggboat, I will be like the birds and make beautiful music on this stick.â
Tugg knew that Teeny was a monkey who thought she could do anything she set her mind to.
âOf course you will, Monkeyface.â
Back home, they took turns cleaning house and cooking meals.
But in the evenings, Teeny went deep into the jungle to practice on her stick.
At first she could only squeak. But as the weeks passed, her squeaks turned into peeps, and the peeps turned into tweets and toodles.
Soon the jungle went to sleep each night to the soothing sounds from Teenyâs stick.
One morning Teeny and Tugg were awakened by loud noises. They ran outside.
âSurprise!â the whole neighborhood shouted. âWe want to make beautiful music, too. Will you teach us?â
After hearing Teeny practice on her stick each night, all the animals had decided to take music lessons. Even Tugg joined in.
And that is how beautiful music came to the jungle.
Whatâs in a Picture?
âLook!â said Tugg.
âWhat is it?â asked Teeny.
âPaintings,â said Tugg.
âPainting is for the birds,â said Teeny.
âYes, painting
is
for the birds. And for the reptiles, the big cats, the â¦â
âI hope it is not boring,â Teeny grumbled.
Teeny stopped at the first two pictures.
Her mouth fell open.
âThey are fabulous!â she said. âAnd look at this one, Tugg. Can you believe it?â Teeny shouted. âIt is
us!
Violet painted us.â
âThat was very nice of her,â said the gorilla.
Teeny ran into the Jungle Visitorsâ Shop and bought paint and art supplies.
âWe must hurry home, Tuggboat,â said Teeny.
Teeny set up her easel and started to work.
She had been painting for a whole week when Chuckie Cheetah ran by.
âWhat does this painting look like?â the monkey asked him.
âA swamp,â said Chuckie.
Teeny frowned.
Zig and Zag, the wacky Zebra brothers, trotted over.
âWhat am I painting?â Teeny asked them.
âPurple weeds,â said Zig.
âGrouchy Zig waking up,â said Zag.
Teeny groaned.
A month had gone by when Margie Barge waddled over.
âSince you are an art expert, Margie,â said Teeny, âtell me what I am painting.â
Margie Barge stared at the picture for a long time. âAh yes,â she said. âFive divided by twelve.â
Teeny was almost in tears.
âWhat is wrong, Teeny?â Tugg
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