154 



FOUR-HANDED FOLK. 



calmness, serenity, peace. If a monkey ever 

 smiled in triumph at the happy result of long 

 scheming, that rogue far out of reach on the 

 roof did so, as she indulged in close examination 

 of the precious finery fluttering in the morning 

 breeze. 



No one, except the raving owner of the treas- 

 ure, could avoid laughing at the picture. But 

 when the monkey began deliberately to tear her 

 prize to pieces, the prank assumed a more seri- 

 ous aspect in the eyes of the monkey's mistress, 

 whose purse would suffer for the fun. Com- 

 mands were useless, coaxing unavailing, against 

 such a pleasure ; a ladder and a man were called 

 in and the garment recovered, somewhat the 

 worse for her handling. 



These were pleasures that the monkey could 

 enjoy while chained, but if by any chance she 

 got loose, a wider field opened before* her, of 

 which she was quick to take advantage. There 

 was the garden, a constant annoyance before 

 her eyes, — so flourishing, so orderly, so plainly 

 satisfactory to the gardener. How her fingers 

 itched to take a hand in affairs out there ! The 

 instant she was free she rushed at it. She knew 

 her time was short ; she made the most of it. 

 To destroy a full-grown banana plant took her 

 perhaps ten minutes ; to strip a small tree of 

 leaves and twigs, not much longer; and five 



