A long time ago, monkeys looked very different to how they look today. They had hair all over their bodies and even on their faces. They had long snouts, pointy ears and long, bushy tails just like the other forest animals. The only thing was that 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 half a 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 perfectly match where they lived, 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. Come before noon that day and rub the cream all over your body to become like people.” Inoki was excited. “Don’t tell anyone else and 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
(monkeys will become people today – we’ll be people)

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

Edun a d’eniyan l’eni – d’eniyan
(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 it 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. But there was a tiny bit of it left at the bottom of the clay pot. The desperate monkeys rushed to get as much of the remaining òri as they could for themselves. In their hurry, they broke the clay pot so that there was only enough for them to rub on one or two parts of their bodies. Some monkeys rubbed the òri 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, for some, their tails disappeared 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 begged. But Eledumare, who had been watching the whole time, sent them away from his mountain. “You were foolish and did not follow my command so you must now live with the consequences of your action.”

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 shows us why we should be happy with what we have and with who we are. It also teaches us the importance of being obedient. If the monkeys had not thrown a party, boasting to the other animals, they wouldn’t have overslept and there would have been enough of the cream for all of them.