The monkey store

A group of monkeys
opened a store.
And it was open
from 10 to 4.
They sold bananas
to all of their friends
at a good, fair price,
(so as not to offend.)

Business was good,
but upon further inspection
it was better if they went
in a different direction.
They found other animals
that they could target.
so they added items
and expanded the market.

Word got out,
and the animals started buying
The parrots, the hippos.
Yes, even the lions.
But when the monkeys earned enough
to keep happy and alive
a second group opened a store
from 9 to 5.


The first store lost business,
so this problem they fixed
by expanding their hours
from 8 to 6.
Success came back
to their small operation
so they decided to open
several new locations

When the second monkeys
caught wind of all this
they decided to try
an aggressive new twist.
They opened huge stores,
as big as the forest
where they sold food, clothes -
there was even a florist.

They mowed down trees
to make their new spaces
it put money in their pockets
and smiles on their faces.
But the first monkeys were stubborn,
and refused to cower
so they opened all their stores
for 24 hours.

And they decided that this
was an all-out war
so they even built houses
around all their stores.
The houses were needed
‘cuz there were no more trees
but it was costly for the animals
to pay all the fees.

So they worked at the stores
to pay off their rent
and the monkeys got rich,
the other animals were spent.
This all went on
for many a season
More stores, more houses,
Without rhyme nor reason.

The jungle was gone,
and there was no time to play
Just working and working
all night and all day
Nothing was left
except stores and homes
No branches to swing on,
no prairies to roam.

Suddenly the monkeys stopped
to see what they’d done.
A lot more money
didn’t mean a lot more fun.
They missed the simple joys
of climbing and swinging
Of hugging their young,
of laughing and singing.

So the monkeys got together
and had a big meeting
(despite all their hatred
from all the competing.)
A young monkey stood up
and sadly exclaimed,
“Isn’t this enough
of our ridiculous game?
We’re not having fun
and our world is in ruins
Does anyone know
what the heck we are doing?
It’s a mess and we don’t know
how we ever got in this
So please, can’t we stop
All this monkey business?”