he monkey
were almost immediately on the best of terms, at which I was much
pleased, for I would not for a moment have endured any quarreling in my
household.

When our cocoa-nuts were nearly all gone, I went down for some more. It
was not long after this that, one fine day, the monkey was missing.
Neither did he come back the next day. About noon, I said to Pippity:

"Pippity, we have but few cocoa-nuts left. To-morrow I shall go down and
get another supply; and who knows but I may meet our friend the monkey?
Although he was at any time at liberty to leave us if he liked, yet I
confess I have a desire to know what has become of him. Perhaps some
accident has befallen him."

While I was yet speaking, a cocoa-nut rolled into our house.

"Why, what's that?" I exclaimed; and, looking out, there was the little
monkey, just without the entrance, in the very act of throwing a
cocoa-nut into the cavern! Going toward him, I saw him catch one thrown
to him by another monkey.

Now, here was a most singular performance, and one which certainly
demanded investigation. Where did the second monkey get _his_ cocoa-nut?
I went toward him, and found that he caught a cocoa-nut thrown to him by
a third monkey about fifteen feet beyond him.

As the nuts kept coming all the time, the sight was highly interesting.

To ascertain the true state of the case I went farther; found a fourth
monkey, then a fifth, then a sixth; and as I proceeded I left one monkey
only to find another farther on, all about fifteen feet one from the
other, some perched on rocks, some on trees, forming a zigzag line down
the mountain, all busily catching and throwing the cocoa-nuts in the
most remarkably systematic fashion, There must have been sixty monkeys
or more engaged in this delightful occupation.

I went back and found a large pile of the fruit in our house; and
thinking we had enough for a long time to come, I would have liked to be
able to make our little monkey understand that we wanted no more. The
parrot had learned to discover my wishes very well, but with the monkey
I supposed it would be a matter of some difficulty to make him
comprehend me. He seemed to divine my thoughts, however, or else his own
good sense came to his aid, for, almost immediately, he gave a little
shriek, which the next monkey took up, and which went along the line
until the sounds died away in the distance. After this a few more nuts
rolled into the house, then the throwin