Start with English Readers

Grade 4

A n Apple for
the Monkey
Felicity Hopkins
428 6461

Oxford

A nnr r i
i I

-V

1 Best friends
Westbury is a small village. It has ffty houses
and one shop. It is also near a big zoo. A lot of
people go there. They come from London in
their cars.
We live in Westbury. M y mother is the
shopkeeper there. I can walk to the zoo in five
minutes. People from Westbury do not pay. I go
every day. I like all the animis but I always go
to one cage.

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BIBLIOTECA
HcfcrGon^Meia

C o m f e n a k

'Helio, Simn,' shouts Mrs Kipling. 'You

again.'
Mrs Kipling looks after the monkeys. She
sees me every day but she always says the same
thing.
'Yes, me again,' I always answer. 'How is
Honey?'
Honey is a small and beautiful Golden
Monkey. She is honey-brown and she has a long
tail. She has quick, clever eyes. She is
sometimes naughty and she likes to eat a lot of
food. She is very greedy. But we are very good
friends.

Sometimes I help Mrs Kipling before the zoo

opens. I clean Honey's cage. She always makes a
'helio' noise and she jumps on my shoulder.
Mrs Kipling laughs. 'You are her friend,
Simn,' she says. 'She likes you best. But you
did save her.'
Mrs Kipling is right. I saved Honey and we
are best friends. But Honey saved me too. This
is our story.

2 The thin man

It was two years ago. It was the summer
holiday. Mary was with us for five weeks. Mary
is the daughter of my mother's sister. She is my
cousin. I like Mary. We ha ve birthdays on the
same day, but I am two years older than her. I
look after her. Sometimes she is braver than me.
We went to the zoo a lot that summer. We
had rides on the elephants. We looked at the

snakes, asleep behind the glass. We gave food to

the animis. Mary liked the zoo. It was a good
summer.
We always went to Honey's cage. Honey and
I were good friends already. Mary liked her too.
'Look at that man,' said Mary one day.
'What man?'
'The tall, thin man. There. He is wearing
green trousers.'
'Yes?'

'He was here yesterday,' said Mary. 'He was

here, looking at Honey. He is here every day.'
Mary was right. He was there on Monday. He
was there on Tuesday, and on Wednesday. He
was there every day. We stood in front of
Honey's cage and watched him. He was tall and
very thin. His hair was black and his eyes were
dark brown. They were the eyes of a snake.
Every day he stood in front of the cage. Every
day he watched Honey with his snake's eyes.
One day he stood next to us.

'You come here every day,' he said to us. 'Do

you like this monkey?'
'Yes, we do,' I said.
'What does it eat?'
'Fruit,' I answered.
'Fruit. Can it eat nuts?'
'No, she cannot eat nuts,' I said.
'Why not?'
'She is a Golden Monkey,' I said. 'She eats
fruit and lea ves. Mrs Kipling is very careful.
There are not many Golden Monkeys. There are
only three in zoos. If they eat the wrong food,
they are sick.'
'Who is Mrs Kipling?' asked the thin man.
'She is the keeper,' I said. 'She looks after the
monkey s.'
The thin man did not speak. He looked at
Honey for a minute.
'What food does she like best?' he said.
'Apples,' I answered. 'She likes red apples.'
'Monkeys do not eat apples,' he said.
'Yes, they do. Watch.'
I had some pieces of apple in a paper bag. I
showed a piece to Honey.
'Come here, Honey. Good girl. Look. A piece
of red apple.'
Honey jumped down from her tree and ran
5

across the cage. I gave her the apple. She sat on

her tree and ate it.
'Give me that apple,' said the thin man.
He showed a piece to Honey. His hand was
thin and white. There were two big rings on his
fingers.
'Come here, little monkey,' he said.
Honey ran across the cage again.
'Good,' he whispered. ' A greedy little
monkey.'
Then he smiled with his thin lips. I can see
that smile now. It was the smile of a snake,
before it is going to kill.
'Thank you,' he said.

3 Some red apples

I saw the thin man again the next day. But not
in the zoo. It was after lunch. Mary and I were
in the room behind the shop. We heard the shop
door open.
'Good afternoon,' said my mother. 'Can I
help you?'
'Yes,' said someone in the shop. T want some
apples.'
'These are good,' said my mother. 'Look.'
'No. I want some red apples.'
'There are some red apples under the table,
there,' said my mother, 'but they are not ripe.
These green apples are better.'
'Simn. It is that man,' whispered Mary.
I knelt and pushed the door. I was very
careful. It opened ten centimetres and I saw
him. It was the thin man. He was in our shop.

' N o , ' he said to my mother. 'Those are no

good. I want red apples.'
M y mother put some red apples in a bag.
'Thank you,' said the thin man. He did not
smile.

The next day we were at the zoo at nine o'clock.

Something was wrong. Honey looked at the
apple in my hand but she did not take it. She
was not happy.
I went to the zoo again in the afternoon.
Honey was asleep in the crner of her cage.
'Come here, Honey,' I said. 'Come and say
"Helio".'
She heard me and she opened one eye. Then
she closed it again.
'She is sick,' said Mrs Kipling.
'What is wrong?' I said. Ts it a cold?'
'No. She is not eating,' said Mrs Kipling. Tt
is worse than a cold.'
The next day Honey's cage was empty. There
was a notice on her cage.
GOLDEN
Age: 2 years

MONKEY
ame: Honey

This animal is in the zoo hospital

8

4 No entry
I looked at the notice. Honey was sick. She was
in the zoo hospital.
'What are we going to do?' said Mary. 'Mrs
Kipling is not here.'
'We can go to the hospital,' I answered.
The zoo hospital is behind a high wall and tall
trees. There is a notice on the gate.
WESTBURY ZOO HOSPITAL

NO ENTRY
'No entry,' I said. 'We cannot go i n . '
Mary pushed the gate. It opened. She looked
at me.
' O K . Come on,' I said.

We walked along a wide path to the

hospital.lt was a long white building. One door
had the word O F F I C E on it. We knocked and
the door opened.
'What are you doing here?' said a big man
with a black beard.
'We want to see Honey,' I said. 'She is a sick
monkey. Can we see her?'
'No. You cannot see her,' he said. T h i s is the
zoo hospital. There is a notice on the gate. It
says N O E N T R Y . '
'Yes,' said Mary, 'but Honey is our friend.'
'Go away,' said the man with the beard.
'Now.'
He shouted the word 'Now' and closed the
door.

10

Mary and I walked to the gate. We were very

sad. We kicked stones along the path but we did
not say anything.
In the afternoon, we saw Mrs Kipling. We
told her about the man with the beard.
'That was George Stone,' she said. 'He is big
and he has a beard. He is new.'
'He shouted "Go away",' said Mary.
T know,' said Mrs Kipling. ' A l l the people in
the hospital are tired and unhappy.'
'But . . .'
'No more questions,' said Mrs Kipling. 'Sit
on the wall and listen.'
We looked at Mrs Kipling. Her clothes were
dirty and her eyes were dark and tired.
'Honey is not in the zoo hospital,' she said.
'She escaped this morning.'
'Escaped,' I said. 'She was sick.'
'Yes, I know,' answered Mrs Kipling. 'But
she ran out of her cage and out of the hospital.
George Stone saw her. They are looking for her
now in the trees and bushes behind the
hospital.'
Mrs Kipling put her hand on my hand.
'Do not cry,' she said. Tt is difficult but we
are going to find her.'

11

5 The blue car

They watched near the hospital. They watched
inside the zoo and they watched outside the zoo.
They went to Westbury village. They did not
find Honey.
'She is hiding,' I said to Mary. 'She does not
know these people. They frighten her. We can
find her. We are her friends.'
'Where are we going to look?' said Mary.
'Behind the hospital,' I said. 'There are a lot
of trees there. It is good for a monkey.'
It was a hot day. There were no clouds. We
climbed the wall at the side of the hospital.
Then we were under the trees. We were very
careful. We made no noise. We looked at every
tree and under every bush. We saw a lot of birds
but we did not see Honey.

12

Then the trees stopped. There was grass and

a small car park. We were near a door at the
back of the hospital.
'Listen,' said Mary. ' A car.'
We went nearer and knelt behind a tree. A
blue car stopped in the car park. It was a big
new car. The door opened.
Tt is him,' I whispered. Tt is the thin man.
What is he doing here?'
The door at the back of the hospital opened.
George Stone carne out and walked across the
car park. He stood in the middle with the thin
man. They talked and laughed. They were
friends.

13

'What are they saying?' said Mary.

T do not know. I cannot hear,' I said. 'Come
on. I am going to listen. We can hide behind the
car.'
We were quick and careful. They did not see
us. We sat behind the big blue car and listened.
We heard one thing. It was the thin man.
'We are going to ha ve a lot of money,' he said.
George Stone laughed. Then they went into
the hospital and closed the door.
We looked through the windows of the car.
There was a paper bag and a small black case on
the seat.
'Look,' I said. 'The door is open.'
Mary and I climbed into the car. We looked
at the paper bag. It was from my mother's shop.
Inside it there were four red apples. Then we
opened the case. There were some papers in it,
and a small white packet.
'Watch the hospital,' I said to Mary.
I opened the packet. There was some white
powder inside. Some of the powder fell on the
seat.
'What is it, Simn?' Mary said.
'Do not touch it,' I said.
'Why not?' she asked.

14

Then we heard someone walking across the

car park. It was the thin man.
'Down,' I whispered to Mary. 'Lie down on
the floor.'
The thin man sat down on the front seat. He
closed the door and he started the car.

15

6 In the dark room

The car went along some big roads. It was fast
and quiet. There was a telephone in the car. The
thin man used it. There was no answer. He
turned on the radio. He did not see us.
Then there were stones on the road and the
car went up and down. We were on a small
road. Lea ves touched the windows. There was
no sun. It was dark on the floor of the car. The
car stopped.

'f-'- ' "

X

''

It was an od house. It had a lot of rooms. The

grass was long in the garden. The windows were
dirty. The trees at the side of the house touched
the wall. It was dark under the trees but hot.
There was a smell of green lea ves.
'Look,' I said. 'There is a window at the side
of the house. We can look inside.'
But the window was very high. I stood on my
toes but it was no good. Then I saw an od chair.
We put it under the window and I climbed up.
'What can you see?' said Mary.
'It is difficult,' I said. 'It is dark in there. I
can see the walls. It is a small room. Nobody
lives here. I can see an od table. I can see a
bucket. And there is a box. No. It is not a box.
Mary, it is a cage. Quick. Come and look.'
Mary climbed up. We looked and looked into
the dark room. We did not say anything. Then
Mary looked at me and she smiled.
It was Honey. She was asleep in a cage in that
small, dark room.

We were outside a tall house. The thin man

went inside the house and he closed the door.
Mary and I jumped out of the car.
'Quick,' I said. 'Before he comes back. We
can hide at the side of the house. There are a lot
of trees there.'
16

17

'But why?' said Mary.

'The thin man is a thief,' I said. 'He wants
Honey. Somebody is going to give him a lot of
money.'
I thought hard. The apples. The powder.
Yes, the powder and George Stone.
T know, Mary,' I said. 'The thin man put the
powder on the red apples. Honey always eats
red apples. The powder made Honey sick. Then
she went to the hospital. George Stone is the
thin man's friend. He is helping him. He works
in the hospital. He said Honey escaped but she
did not.'
'What can we do?' said Mary.
'Listen. I am going to watch here. You find
Mrs Kipling. She can get the plice. Quick,
run.'

18

7 An apple for the monkey

I watched and waited. The sun was hot and
there was no wind. I was hot and I wanted a
drink.
I climbed on the chair and looked into the
room. Honey was asleep. She was a very small
monkey. I thought about her in the zoo. I
thought about Mrs Kipling. I thought about the
thin man. And I waited. The plice did not
come.
I climbed on the chair again and looked into
the dark room. Honey was not asleep now.
'Honey,' I whispered and my lips touched the
dirty window. T cannot help you. The window
is closed.'
The door of Honey's room opened. It was the
thin man. He turned on the light. I jumped
down. I waited under the window. It opened.

19

Tt is hot,' the thin man said. Tt is a hot day,

little monkey. Here is some water for you. I do
not want a sick monkey.'
He turned off the light and he went out of the
room. But the window was open.
Then I heard the front door open. I went
nearer and looked. The thin man was in the car
now. He was talking on the telephone. I did not
hear all the words.

'The monkey is here,' he said. 'Has he got the

money? A l l the money? O K . I can put the cage
in the car now. N o , the monkey is not sick. Yes,
yes, George knows.'
He put the telephone down. He took the case
from the back seat. Then he took a red apple
from the bag.
I went to the side of the house and climbed on
the chair. I was quick and quiet. I climbed
through the window. It was difficult. The
window was high and I cut my leg on the wall. I
fell into the room.

'Come on, Honey,' I whispered. 'We are

going to escape.'
Honey knew me. She made her 'helio' noise
and jumped up and down in the cage.
BIBLIOTECA

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'Be quiet,' I said, but it was no good.

I opened the door of the cage and her 'helio'
noise was louder. She jumped on the table and
the bucket fell down. There was a very loud
noise. The door of the room opened. The thin
man stood there.
In his left hand was the apple. He looked at
me with his snake's eyes. I looked at the two big
rings on his thin fingers.
Honey was on the table. He did not see her.
She looked at the apple. It was red. She liked
red apples. She jumped.
'Help!' shouted the thin man.
He knocked his head on the wall and he fell
down.

22

'Come on,' I shouted to Honey. 'We can go

through the house.'
She jumped on my shoulder and we ran.
Outside there were two white cars. It was the
plice with Mary and Mrs Kipling.
'The thin man is in there,' I said.
Four policemen went into the house.
Mrs Kipling and Mary smiled and they cried
too. I smiled with them. Then my face was wet
too.
T am crying,' I said, 'but I am happy.'
'You are a brave boy, Simn,' said Mrs
Kipling.
'And Honey is a brave monkey,' said Mary.
We laughed.
Honey made a 'helio' noise and she jumped
up and down on my shoulder. She was careful.
She had the red apple in two hands.

23

Questions and exercises

3 Some red apples

Finish the sentences:

1 Best friends
1
2
3
4
5

Where does Simn live?

What does Mrs Kipling do?
What is Honey?
What colour is Honey?
Does Honey like Simn?

1 Simn and Mary saw the thin man again the

day.
2 The thin man was in Simon's mother's
3 The
apples were better.
4 The thin man wanted
apples.
5 The next day Honey was not
6 'She is
,' said Mrs Kipling.
7 The next day Honey was in the zoo

2 The thin man

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

24

WhoisMary?
Is she older than Simn?
Did Mary like the zoo?
What colour was the thin man's hair?
Did he have happy eyes?
What do Golden monkeys eat?
How many Golden monkeys are in zoos?
What food does Honey like best?
Is there a tree in Honey's cage?
What is the thin man wearing on his hand?
Does Honey eat the apple in the thin man's hand?
What does the thin man whisper?
Did Simn like the thin man?

4 No entry
Choose the best answer:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

The hospital is (in front of/behind) a high wall.

There is a notice on the (wall/tree/gate).
Mary (went under/climbed up/opened) the gate.
The big man had (a green hat/brown hair/a black
beard).
The big man said, '(Come in/Go away).'
The children were (happy/angry/sad).
Honey (ran out of the hospital/climbed a wall).
(George Stone/Simon/Mrs Kipling) saw Honey
escape.
They are looking for Honey (near the river/in the
trees).

25

5 The blue car

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Did they look for Honey in London?

Why is Honey hiding?
Is it a cold day?
Did they see birds or snakes under the trees?
Was the car od?
Did George Stone know the thin man?
Where did Simn and Mary hide?
What was on the back seat of the car?
What was in the paper bag?
What was in the case?
What was in the packet?
The thin man started the car. Where were Simn
and Mary?

6 In the dark room

Finish these sentences:

1 There was a radio and a

in the car.
2 The car went
and
on the small
road.
3 Simn and Mary jumped
of the car.
4 The od house had a
ofrooms.
5 There was a window
of the house.
6 There were three things in the dark room:
a
,a
and a
7 The
made Honey sick.
8 George Stone helped the
man.

26

7 An apple for the monkey

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Was it a hot day?

Was Simn hungry or thirsty?
Why did the thin man go into the room
Why did he open the window?
Where was the telephone?
What did Simn cut?
What fell down and made a loud noise?
What was in the thin man's left hand?
Why did Honey jump?
What colour were the plice cars?
Was Mrs Kipling sad?
Where was the thin man's red apple?

Words inthis book

10

o
10

Yo
the back seat

a beard

best

a bucket
53 C

a pie 0;

a building

abush

a cage

a car park

a crner

dark

down

an elephant

^I
r

escape
28

HT

*9

frighten

fruit

hide

S t a r t w i t h English Readers
Grade 1
Po-Po
Mary and her Basket
Pat and her Picture
A N e w Tooth
The Kite
Grade 2
Peter and his Book
John and Paul go to School
The Bird and the Bread
Two Stories
Tonk and his Friends
Grade 3
Sam's Ball
The Fox and the Stork/The Bird and the Glass
The Big Race
The Man in the Big Car
The Queen's Handkerchief

asnake

a telephone

athief

through

Grade 4
Nine Stories About People
Four Clever People
In the Cave
An Apple for the Monkey
Grade 5
People and Things
Doctor Know It All/The Brave Little Tailor
The Flyer
Grade 6
The Bottle Imp
The World Around Us
Start with English Readers are also available on cassette.
S t a r t w i t h W o r d s a n d Pictures
This alphabetical picture dictionary provides extra help for Grades 1 to 3. It
has been specially written for use with Start with English materials.
For practice using the words in the picture dictionary, there is the Start
with Words and Pictures Activity Book.

watch
30

whisper

wide

a zoo

Oxford University Press

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O X F O R D and O X F O R D E N G L I S H are trade
marks of Oxford University Press
ISBN O 19 433792 8
Oxford University Press 1988
First published 1988
Fifth impression 1992
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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imposed on the subsequefitpurchasSr.
Illustrated by Jolyne Knox
Typeset by Pentacor Ltd.
Printed in Hong Kong

O x f o r d University P r e s s
ISBN

0-19-433792-8