A Single Banana
故事全文
There was once a monkey and a squirrel who lived in the forest. They were very close friends, and often played together. One day, the monkey got sick, so, the squirrel told him, “Do not worry, my dear friend, for I will take care of you.”Saying this, the squirrel set off to look for bananas, which were the monkey’s favorite food.
The squirrel searched high and low, and climbed all the banana trees in the forest, in search of bananas for the monkey. Trying as he might until the sun was almost setting, the squirrel could not find a single banana. When he thought of his sick friend, who hadn’t had anything to eat all day, he grew even more desperate. Night came, and the forest animals were returning home to sleep. But the squirrel still hadn’t found a single banana. He started to cry in desperation.
Just then, a fawn passed by the squirrel on his way home. Seeing the crying squirrel, he asked, “Little squirrel, why are you crying here, all alone? Why aren’t you going home to rest?” The squirrel cried and told the fawn about his sick friend, the monkey. After listening to the squirrel, the fawn thought a while and said, “Please wait here for me. I shall return quickly. Please don’t leave before I return.”
The fawn went home and returned with his treasured banana. He passed the banana to the squirrel and said, “Here, please take this banana. Though I have been very reluctant to eat it, I hope it will help your friend to get well soon.” The squirrel took the banana gratefully and said, “Thank you so much! I will surely tell the monkey of your kindness.” The squirrel took the banana home, and told the monkey what happened. The monkey hugged the banana gratefully and said, “Though this is just a single banana, I can feel how much you and the little fawn care about me. I will recover quickly for sure.”
