my house!
Thankfully with the help of a friend, he quickly exited via his entry
route!
(We have seen more of the monkeys in the last few weeks, including
them coming to get a drink at our plunge pool, but inside my house is
not really to my liking!)
We are very much aware from stories of friends, that you have to be
careful about monkeys getting into your house. One of our 'sons'
who's home village is Mochudi tells of the daily ritual his
grandmother used to perform, to close all the house windows around
midday before the monkeys ran across the village to the hill where the
chief's house is, where they were apparently fed each day. She knew
that if she didn't close the windows, the monkeys would just run right
through the house, grabbing sugar and whatever else they felt like
along the way. She would have to repeat the process a couple of hours
later, when they were on their way back!
But yesterday morning, I was with a friend in my 'day room' sharing
some suggested counselling book titles, and as I looked through to the
sitting/dining room area I suddenly saw an odd looking monkey land on
our dining room table!
In a flash, I got up (who knows what my heart rate was doing!), loudly
clapped my hands and got him moving. In one swift motion he jumped
and swung up the hand rail of the stairs and across into the upstairs
bedroom where my friend had been staying for a few days. Thankfully
she was at the house with me at the time.
"Do you know anything about getting a monkey out of one's house" I
asked!
Her answer of "No" didn't help us much!
So I suggested we try a broom!
Without delay, she took the broom, banging the floor as she went after
the monkey, hoping he would find his way out, whatever way he had
managed to come in. We realised then that he had come in through a
high small window in the upstairs bedroom. We were both relieved when
he went back out the little window as quick as can be, ran down the
roof and positioned himself on the post outside. This was where I got
to see why he had seemed to look a bit 'odd' when I had seen him on
the dining table - he was covered in white paint!!! This was one
daring and naughty monkey, who's adventures had obviously got himself
in more than one scrape in his little life! (Maybe he got inquisitive
someplace and pulled down a tin off a shelf and tipped it contents all
over himself! ) He did look a sight!
Well, after we had got him outside, and securely closed the little
window, I went to wipe over the dining table with some disinfectant
and realised there was a reason he landed on the table!...... lying on
the table beside the fruit bowl was a 'banana' he had pulled from the
bowl and had hoped to enjoy. (Well, I have confirmed that its no 'old
wives tale' that monkeys favourite food is bananas) I'll never know
whether he planned on eating it right there or running off with it to
show his friends how clever he was! But, either way, I interrupted
his plans!
