Bananas and Fire

Bananas and Fire
by The Zebra Danio


DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. If a reader chooses to interpret it otherwise, that's his or her problem, not the author's. Enjoy!

Once upon a time, a great River ran through the middle of a jungle. The River was wide and fast, and the only way to cross it on foot was by hopping across a series of large stones in the water that spanned its length. As our story begins, the monkeys living in the jungle to the west of the River found that they were running out of bananas to eat. George the monkey, Chief of all monkeys west of the River, was well aware of this problem and so he called a meeting among the council to discuss the matter of bananas.

George perched on the highest branch of the tallest tree in the jungle west of the River. His father, who was also named George, was once Chief monkey and George Jr. was happy to be the newest Chief. He felt that solving the banana shortage problem early in his reign as Chief would prove to everyone that he was a good and capable leader.

During the meeting, it came up that the monkeys living in the jungle to the east of the River had many bananas in their trees. Why not simply take their bananas? The General, an old monkey who had served under George's father, first proposed the idea. It was no secret that the General held a grudge against the monkeys east of the River, ever since he and George Sr. had lost a battle to them many years ago. As a result of that battle, George Sr. was crippled and had to retire from his position as Chief.

But other advisors at the meeting were not so sure about this plan. They argued that it was just plain wrong to take someone else's bananas by force. Besides, there were still enough bananas in the jungle west of the River to last for a while, and even if the bananas ran out, they could simply go in search of new types of fruit to eat. It would take just as much effort to send monkeys across the River and fight for bananas as it would to send monkeys to explore the jungle for new fruit. Since this was good reasoning, the council couldn't decide what to do. And, like all the cases in which a decision couldn't be made, the council decided to do nothing.




It was a normal morning in the jungle a couple weeks after the council meeting, and all the monkeys west of the River went about their business as usual as they collected bananas from the trees to feed their families.

Within just a few short hours, all of that was going to change.

Seemingly out of nowhere, an anaconda attacked the crowd of busy monkeys and constricted three to death. The surviving monkeys could do nothing but jump from branch to branch, shrieking with fear and anger at the massive snake. A few brave ones attempted to rescue the fallen monkeys, but their efforts were all in vain. Others ran to inform Chief George and the council of the tragic event.

After calling an emergency meeting, George and the council immediately decided to track down the anaconda. They sent out a party of monkeys to follow its trail, and soon learned that the snake had crossed the River and returned to the jungle east of it. Clearly, the anaconda had come from the jungle east of the River, where there must be more snakes just waiting to attack monkeys.

News spread quickly. The snakes were a threat to all monkeys and must be destroyed! Especially the anaconda, who was king of snakes. George, with the support of his subjects, sent messengers to contact the monkeys living east of the River and inform them of the dangerous snakes hiding in their side of the jungle. Back home, George formed a special team of monkeys to ensure the safety of his subjects. Part of the team was sent to patrol the western bank, and another part made sure there weren't any more snakes hiding in the jungle west of the River. Every once in a while, a small snake would be captured--proof that the system was working and needed to continue, despite the many inconveniences the patrols caused the monkeys living west of the River.




Now, more than one group of monkeys lived to the east of the River; about a dozen, in fact. When they received the news from across the River about the snakes, all the groups were equally shocked (or at least the ones who weren't said they were). After all, despite their differences with the monkeys west of the River, they agreed that snakes were the true enemy and needed to be eradicated.

And so it was that for one week, all monkeys declared their war on snakes and set about hunting them down one by one. The monkeys east of the River allowed the monkeys west of the River to cross the bridge of stones into their territory. Though the striped monkeys--one of the many different groups mentioned before--chose not to help the monkeys west of the River in their hunt for snakes, they did not stand in their way, either.

George suddenly found that his subjects fully backed his actions in the war on snakes. They approved of his quick thinking in gaining the support of the monkeys east of the River, and were glad that their combined forces were making short work of the evil snakes. Not only that, but the groups of monkeys east of the River who constantly fought with each other had even stopped their fighting to help. George felt more confident and more in control now than he ever had before. He felt that the whole jungle awaited his command.

But as the second week dragged by, there was no sign of the king of snakes, dead or alive. Back in the jungle west of the River, the monkeys were growing concerned with the banana shortage again. Protestors argued that the time and effort wasted on hunting snakes could have been better spent searching for new fruits in the jungle.




Sensing unrest among his subjects, George called another meeting with his council to see what their opinions were.

Some wanted to continue what they were doing and keep hunting snakes until the anaconda was found. Others thought that enough was enough, and they'd best start focusing their energy on the banana problem before it got out of hand.

The old General had been quiet until this point, but now he stood up and addressed the council. The simplest solution to the banana shortage was to take bananas from the striped monkeys across the river. The striped monkeys were a bad bunch. They didn't help with hunting down snakes; who's to say they weren't helping the snakes to begin with? They had a record of starting up fights in the jungle east of the River with other groups of monkeys. They repeatedly attempted to take all the bananas in the jungle east of the River for themselves. Not only was it clear that the striped monkeys wanted to seize control of the jungle east of the River, said the General, but they would take over the jungle west of the River as well if they had the chance. Finally, the striped monkeys played with fire, making them doubly a threat to the entire jungle.

While half of the council agreed with the General, the other half opposed him. Where was the evidence that the striped monkeys were helping snakes or playing with fire? How could the General be so sure that the striped monkeys were planning jungle domination? Besides, what right did the monkeys west of the River have to interfere in the business of the monkeys east of the River? And even if they did have a right, it would be unwise to charge across the River without a single ally on the other side.

George climbed higher up the branch and jumped up and down to get everyone's attention. There was no need to argue just yet, he said once the council quieted down. Send a team of monkeys across the River to find evidence that the striped monkeys were playing with fire, and to make alliances with the other groups of monkeys east of the River. George was confident that both objectives could be fulfilled quickly, and that the vast majority of monkeys in the jungle supported his actions. In the meantime, the plan was to prepare for war against the striped monkeys.




A few days later, the team returned from east of the River bearing news that gave George a rude shock. Not only had they been unable to find substantial evidence of fire, only ashes, in the striped monkeys' territory, but they had made only one ally out of the numerous groups of monkeys in the jungle east of the River. This group, populated with spotted monkeys, was very small, and had only been convinced to aid the western monkeys with the promise that any bananas liberated from the striped monkeys would be shared with all the other groups of monkeys east of the River, and that the spotted monkeys would be put in power after the striped monkeys were defeated.

The next meeting was a mess of arguments for and against the war. The council tree practically shook with monkeys jumping from branch to branch, shouting at one another. Time was running out; they had to strike first before the striped monkeys did! They had almost no allies; there was no support from the rest of the jungle for this war! Would they rather do nothing and watch the striped monkeys burn down the jungle east of the River with their fire? There was no evidence of fire. Don't be stupid, everyone knows they have fire; they've used fire in the past, and they'll use it again. They weren't using fire now; a declaration of war would only provoke them into using it. There were already few enough bananas to go around; they couldn't afford any more resources and monkeys to fight. Anyone who was against going to war at this point was obviously a sympathizer for the striped monkeys; where was their sense of loyalty? Obviously they didn't care at all about the death of those three innocent monkeys a few weeks ago. Of course they cared; why couldn't the monkeys for the war see that the war on snakes was hardly even related to this new war on the striped monkeys?

George could feel everything falling apart, the control slipping through his fingers. This was not going the way he expected it to at all. Everyone was supposed to agree with him, and he would lead his monkeys to righteous war ending with the defeat of the striped monkeys, and he would be a hero known all over the jungle. He longed for that short--so short!--span of time just a couple weeks ago when everyone approved of his war on snakes. If only he could have that sort of power back! At his point of greatest despair, George looked to his right and noticed the General watching him.

George and the General silently looked each other in the eye as the debate raged on all around them.

The General nodded once. George understood what he needed to do.




In the end, the final council vote for whether or not they would go to war was split fifty-fifty. Without hesitation, George the monkey, Chief of all monkeys west of the River, cast the deciding vote.




It was the monkeys west of the River who used fire first. Under command of the General and bearing torches, they leapt across the bridge of stones and ran straight for the headquarters of the Chief of the striped monkeys. Several other groups of monkeys east of the River attempted to stop the General, not wanting war in the jungle, but they were simply brushed aside. The General and his monkeys set fire to the trees in the territory of the striped monkeys, while the spotted monkeys stood guard and helped keep the fire under control.

As the trees began to burn, the General ordered his monkeys to secure all the bananas and carry them back across the River. The Chief of the striped monkeys, seeing this, and seeing the spotted monkeys guarding the fire, shouted out in desperation. See these dirty foreigners, he cried. They trick our neighbors into fighting against us, they burn down our homeland, and they take our bananas for themselves! See neighbors, you have been deceived!

The spotted monkeys turned and saw that the General's monkeys were indeed taking away all the bananas. It seemed clear to the spotted monkeys that the General intended to steal the bananas and leave the fire burning. They shrieked in rage and rushed upon the western monkeys. The General spun around and met the assault head-on, sending the two foremost spotted monkeys sprawling, then turned and shouted for his monkeys to fight back.

The battle on the eastern bank of the River raged on, as both sides forgot everything about the bananas and the fire. And then something unexpected happened. A gust of wind from the east blew westward.

Whipping tendrils of flame, pushed on by the wind, reached all the way across the great River and set the trees on the opposite bank on fire. It dawned on the monkeys west of the River that they were in danger, but by then it was too late. All of the strongest monkeys were fighting on the other side of the River, and there was no one left to save them.

Fire!

Some monkeys broke away from the fighting on the east bank to futilely try and put out the flames.

Fire!

Others, taking advantage of the confusion, tried to grab as many bananas for themselves as they could carry.

Fire!

Still others rushed into the jungle to save their families and children.

Fire!

Those nearest the water simply jumped into the River to save themselves.

Fire!

George the monkey, Chief of all monkeys west of the River, perched on the highest branch of the tallest tree in the jungle. As he watched red smoke choke the skies and the fire burn everything around him to black ruins, he did the only thing he could think of. He prayed for rain to come.