Careless Willy

Macintosh was a big apple tree that stood alone on a huge farm. Every day, he wished that someone would come out and play with him. One day, a young chimpanzee named Willy came with his mother and sat under the tree. Macintosh was happy to see them.

He said to Willy, “Climb onto my branches and I will play a game of see-saw with you. When the wind blows, I will rock you to sleep.”

“No!” cried young Willy, “I’ll stay with my mom!”

Macintosh began to tease Willy. “I will give you lots of yummy, juicy fruits to eat. So come on up and play with me.”

Hearing this, Willy looked up at the tree hanging down with red, juicy apples. He licked his lips. He could no longer wait to get his hands on them. Quickly, he climbed up the tree to pick them.

After filling himself with the sweet apples, Willy began to swing from the branches which swayed with the wind. He felt so happy that every now and then he’d climb down to hug and kiss his mom. Willy began to do this daily.

After playing, he would lie on the branches of the tree which gently rocked him to sleep. Every day, his mother reminded him not to sleep on the tree because he could fall and hurt himself. Willy did not listen to his mom because he was having too much fun.

One day, a donkey called Molly came under the tree to eat the fresh green grass. Willy was sound asleep between the soft branches while his mother slept quietly below. Soon it became very windy and the branches of the tree began to sway with Willy.

Suddenly, Willy slipped and tumbled out of the tree. He came crashing through the branches and fell onto the back of the donkey. Young Willy thought he had fallen on top of his mom’s back, so he held on tightly. Molly was terrified and began to run wildly with the young chimp on her back. Willy thought this was funny and began to laugh and enjoy the ride. This made Molly very angry.

She shouted, “Get off my back! Leave me alone!” “No!” yelled Willy. “I am having fun, so keep on running.”

Hearing what Willy said, Molly began to think of ways to get Willy off her back. After a while, she saw a huge mud puddle and quickly ran into the middle of it. She stopped suddenly, and refused to move. Soon, Willy became bored and decided it was time to go home. But just as he stepped off Molly’s back, his feet got stuck in the yucky mud, and he could not move. Immediately, Molly stepped out of the mud and went onto dry land. She then looked back at young Willy and smiled.

Willy could not get out of the sticky mud, and this made him cry. When Molly saw him crying, she felt sorry and decided to help him. She said, “Hold on to my tail and I will pull you out of the mud.” Willy nodded his head, and as soon as he was pulled out, he ran home.

His mom was happy to see him for she had been searching for him everywhere. Willy told her the whole story. Hearing it, his mother reminded him once more never to sleep on the apple tree. But Willy ignored his mom and the next day, he continued to do the same thing.

One day, a huge prickly porcupine came under the tree to search for food. Willy was sound asleep in the tree while his mother slept quietly below. Once again, Willy slipped through the branches of the tree, but this time he fell onto the back of the prickly porcupine.

“Ouch!” cried Willy. “Help me, mom! Help me, please!”
“Get off my back!” shouted the angry porcupine.

As Willy screamed for help, his mom quickly got up and pulled him off the porcupine’s back. Its sharp quills caused him to feel a lot of pain and this made him cry. His mom felt sorry for young Willy. She hugged and kissed him. From then on, Willy no longer slept in the tree for he had learnt his lesson the prickly way. He finally realized that many things could go wrong without the guidance and the support of his mom. …J.R.S