ff.

A little further along he saw a baker who was standing at the door,
eating one of his loaves. 'That must be rather dry,' said the monkey,
'try my fish'; and the man did not need twice telling. A few days
later the monkey stopped again at the baker's hut. 'I've called for
that fish,' he said.

'That fish? But I have eaten it!' exclaimed the baker in dismay.

'If you have eaten it I shall take this barrel of meal in exchange,'
replied the monkey; and he walked off with the barrel under his arm.

As he went he saw a woman with a group of little girls round her,
teaching them how to dress hair. 'Here is something to make cakes for
the children,' he said, putting down his barrel, which by this time he
found rather heavy. The children were delighted, and ran directly to
find some flat stones to bake their cakes on, and when they had made
and eaten them, they thought they had never tasted anything so nice.
Indeed, when they saw the monkey approaching not long after, they
rushed to meet him, hoping that he was bringing them some more
presents. But he took no notice of their questions, he only said to
their mother: 'I've called for my barrel of meal.'

'Why, you gave it to me to make cakes of!' cried the mother.

'If I can't get my barrel of meal, I shall take one of your children,'
answered the monkey. 'I am in want of somebody who can bake me bread
when I am tired of fruit, and who knows how to make cocoa-nut cakes.'

'Oh, leave me my child, and I will find you another barrel of meal,'
wept the mother.

'I don't _want_ another barrel, I want _that_ one,' answered the
monkey sternly. And as the woman stood wringing her hands, he caught
up the little girl that he thought the prettiest and took her to his
home in the palm tree.

She never went back to the hut, but on the whole she was not much to
be pitied, for monkeys are nearly as good as children to play with,
and they taught her how to swing, and to climb, and to fly from tree
to tree, and everything else they knew, which was a great deal.

Now the monkey's tiresome tricks had made him many enemies in the
forest, but no one hated him so much as the puma. The cause of their
quarrel was known only to themselves, but everybody was aware of the
fact, and took care to be out of the way when there was any chance of
these two meeting. Often and often the puma had laid traps for the
monkey, which he felt sure his foe could not escape; and the monkey
would pretend tha