How It All Began

It started with the Lee family, their baby twins, and their grandpa. The Lee family started

out as sharecroppers, but their grandpa traded with an Indian for sixty acres that he gave his son and family. So they packed up, bought a mule, a milking cow, and what they needed to start their own farm. They left as soon as they could and didn’t stop until they got there. The kids grew up and did a lot of the chores, including retrieving their crazy milking cow, Sally Gooden. One day when Jay Berry went after her with his dog, Rowdy, he saw that Sally Gooden’s milk sack was so full she could barely walk. So they went to look around. Rowdy found something and chased it up a tree. It was a monkey! Jay Berry went and told his mom and dad, but they just had him finish his chores.

The Money MonkeysJay Berry went to the grandpa’s store to

ask about the monkeys and get the things his

mom needed. He found out that there are thirty missing, circus monkeys worth two dollars a piece. There was one specific monkey, called a chimpanzee, that had a reward of one hundred dollars! They thought about how they were going to catch them, and came up with an idea. They got six small steel traps and some meal sacks. Grandpa wrapped the meal sacks around the steel trap and tested it to see if it was harmless. Grandpa also told him to put the traps right where they first saw the monkeys. Jay Berry also mentioned about bait and grandpa said to just hang an apple above each trap and Jay was off to go catch the monkeys.

Chapter 1

coaxed- to attempt to influence by gentle persuasion, and flattery.

slough- an area of soft, muddy ground or swamp like region.

Chapter 2

molasses- a thick syrup produced during the refining of sugar or from sorghum, varying from light to dark brown in color.

sheepish- embarrassed or bashful, as by having done something wrong or foolish

Monkey Business

When Jay Berry comes back from the store with some special traps that his grandpa and him made. He asked for permission to go down in the bottoms and trap the monkeys. His dad said yes, but his mom wasn’t to sure about it so he could only go down if his dad was near by. Jay Berry thanked them and went to go give his sister, Daisy, some of the candy grandpa had given them. While he was up there she told him about the old man of the mountains. She said that he takes care of the hills and gives you bad luck if you try to hurt one of the animals. Which got Jay Berry scared because if he caught something he would have bad luck and wouldn’t catch those monkeys. Page 37 says, “That’s all you know, Daisy said. There are a lot of things in the hills that need taking care of. What would happen to all of the little animals, the birds, and the flowers if someone didn’t look out for them. That ‘s what the Old Man of the Mountains does. He just walks through the hills looking out for everything.”

It’s Not That Easy

Jay Berry woke up early and got his chores done so he could go get the monkeys with Rowdy early in the morning. When he got down there he hung an apple from a tree and put a trap underneath it. He found a hiding place and waited until a monkey came out. One came out looked it over and yelled, then monkeys started pouring out of trees, bushes, and about ever where else. Then when one of the monkeys was about to take an apple. The big hundred dollar chimpanzee yelled and told him not to. He just reached out with his long arms, without stepping into the trap, and pulled every apple loose. The next thing Jay Berry tried was tying half an apple to the trap so it couldn’t be pulled loose. The chimpanzee hit the trap with a stick and untied the apples. Jay Berry was going to do the same thing but with the trap in a log, when they got thirsty. They went to their spring, called Jay Berry’s Spring, but when they got back the monkeys took the gunny sack, the apples, the traps, and everything else. Jay Berry got mad and shot some rocks at him with his beanshooter. This made the monkeys furious and they started chasing them.

Plan #2

Papa sees Jay Berry running out of the bottoms, he told Papa about everything that happened. He went to look for the monkeys but don’t find them. Papa tells Jay Berry on page 64, “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If you haven’t located those monkeys by the time I get this field planted, I’ll take a couple of days off and we’ll both look for them. I’d still like to see that smart monkey.” Jay Berry goes back to the store to see what grandpa thinks. Grandpa had a second plan with a net that a professor used to catch butterflies. They named it the monkey catching net. He showed him how it worked and told him to go in late at night and dig a hole to lie in, that’s camouflaged, then early in the morning while there still asleep, put some apples out in front of you, get in the hole and wait for a monkey. Jay Berry thanked him, got some bread from grandma, and headed home.

Chapter 3

jasper- old slang for a fellow or guy.

salve- a medicinal ointment for healing or relieving wounds and sores.

Chapter 4

gunny sack- a bag made of burlap.

spindly- long or tall, thin and usually frail.

Chapter 5

drift- driving movement or force; impulse; impetus; pressure.

bawling- to cry or wail lustily.

Getting Ready

Jay Berry hid the net and went into Grandma’s house, got something to eat, got the bread from grandma, and headed home. While heading home Jay Berry tried out the monkey catching net on wild animals, but they would run away terrified. So he later tried it on the animals around home, especially their old gander, called Gandy. Jay Berry and Rowdy, were huge enemies with Gandy. They were always trying to get rid of each other. So Jay Berry got Gandy in the net. He got tangled up and became terrified. When he got loose he flew as fast as he could and got out of there. Jay Berry was in big trouble until his dad came in from the field. He talked to mama and helped Jay Berry dig a hole for him. Papa got Jay Berry out of a lot of trouble

Attacked!Jay Berry got up early

and went into the hole. It seemed that everything woke up at once because once a wood pecker started pecking everything started making noise. Plus there was a big black snake that almost came into the hole, but wasn’t interested. Then a big hornet buzzed in and scared them both half to death until it left. Finally the monkeys showed up and two fell right into the trap. While they were heading home with their catch, the chimpanzee landed right in front of him and pretended like he was about to attack them. Later the chimpanzee yelled something and all the little monkeys started circling and attacked them. Then they grabbed onto their hair and body and bit everywhere. They thought about going to grandpa’s store but they just went home and faced the consequences.

Recovery and Trickery

Jay Berry and Rowdy went home and met Daisy at the front door. She scared their mom half to death when she thought Jay Berry and Rowdy had hydrophobia. Dad talked to them and said the monkeys were around people every day and the circus couldn’t have sick monkeys. So they put peroxide and iodine on Jay Berry and Rowdy. The next day they were so stiff they they couldn’t even get up to eat. Daisy tried some Red Cross nursing on them and Rowdy couldn’t stand it for even a day so he jumped out the window and went under the porch. About three days later they were good as new and went to see grandpa for advice. He got a letter from the trainer of the $100 monkey and it said to try to be friends with him by offering them food, calling him by his name Jimbo, and talking to him. Then Grandpa suggested that once he gained Jimbo’s trust, he could have him follow you into the corn crib with all the other monkeys. So Jay Berry thanked grandpa and went to try it out.

Chapter 6

lilac- any of various shrubs belonging to the genus Syringa, of the olive family, having large clusters of fragrant purple or white flowers.

tidbit- a delicate bit or morsel of food.

Chapter 7

flouncing- to go with impatient of impetuous, exaggerated movements.

twanging- to give out a sharp, vibrating sound

Chapter 8

hydrophobia- disease called rabies

frothed- a foam of saliva or fluid resulting from disease.

Making Friends With MonkeysJay Berry couldn’t wait to try out the friend plan so he got some apples

and went into the bottoms. Rowdy didn’t want to go into the bottoms, but Jay Berry tricked him into going there anyway. When he got down there he called for “Jimbo” but couldn’t find him. He also smelled some sour mash somewhere close and found the sour mash and the monkeys at the same place. The monkeys were drinking the sour mash from the barrels and were acting crazy. Jay Berry walked right up to the $100 monkey, offered him the apple and talked to him by his name and as his friend. The $100 monkey offered him some sour mash, but Jay Berry rejected it. The monkey got really upset and threw a tantrum. So Jay Berry took the sour mash, drank some, and drank a lot more. Since Jay Berry drank it Rowdy drank it too. They drank to much and fell asleep and when they woke up, they felt horrible, sick, couldn’t walk, and could barely stand. They went home and got in

trouble by Daisy and Mama. Jay Berry tried to explain what happened to him and that the monkeys got him to drink it. Later that night mama and papa were talking about if Jay Berry was telling the truth and what would the monkey do next.

Jay Berry woke up the next day feeling even worse than the day before. Papa showed up and Jay Berry told him about everything that had happened then Papa and Mama went to the store. Then Daisy came in with her Red Cross dress on and took his temperature and did some check ups. Once Daisy looked through her nursing book, she made Jay Berry threw up by pouring castor oil into a drinking glass and this seemed to help a lot. This made him really thirsty and he drank three dippers full of water. Rowdy was having a fit and wouldn’t let Daisy get close so she poured water on him and forced him to do the Red Cross treatment. In a day or two, they were almost as good as new. Jay Berry and Rowdy went to the store for more advice from Grandpa. He said that they were going to the city, to get some books from the library!

Planning For Plan #4

To the library

The entire family got up early, even though mama, papa, and Daisy weren’t going, to get ready to go, even Rowdy. They reached Tahlequah at about noon, and Jay Berry was amazed. They reached the hotel and barn and got settled in, put Rowdy in the tack room, feed the team, and got the hotel room. They toured the town and had a family sized meal and the hotel. The next morning Jay Berry went to grandpa in the barn, they went a little way down the street and around the corner was a huge red-brick building. When they walked in everything was quite and you could even hear someone turn a page! They asked the librarian for a monkey catching book and sat down. The librarian gave them the book Trapping Monkeys in the Jungles of Borneo. Rowdy got tired of waiting and bawled which disturbed everything. So Jay Berry went to tie up Rowdy when Grandpa came hurrying out and said he knew how to catch the monkeys

The Big City

Trapping Monkeys

In theJungles

Of Borneo

Chapter 9

sour mash- a blended grain mash used in the distilling of some whiskeys, consisting of new mash and a portion of mash from

a preceding run and yielding a high rate of lactic acid.

tassel- a pendent ornament consisting commonly of a bunch of threads, small cords, or other strands hanging from a round knob or head, used on clothing, in jewelry, or on curtains.

Chapter 10

castor oil- a colorless to pale yellow, viscid liquid, usually obtained from the castor bean by a pressing process: used as a lubricant, in the manufacture of certain soaps and creams,

and in medicine chiefly as a cathartic.

Red Cross- an international humanitarian organization formally established by the Geneva Convention of 1864. It was

originally limited to providing medical car for war casualties, but its services no include liaison between prisoners of war and

their families, and relief to victims of natural disasters.

Chapter 11

sympathy- the fact or power of sharing the feelings of another,

especially in sorrow or trouble; fellow feeling

compassion, or commiseration.

buckboard- a light, four-wheeled carriage in which a long elastic board or lattice frame

is used in place of body and springs.

Jay Berry and grandpa hurried to the store to get coconuts, for monkey bait, and other supplies. They went home and talked about how they were going to trap the monkeys. Jay Berry and Grandpa were going to build a big pen out of chicken wire, tie a binder twine to the door, put the coconuts in the pen, and pull the door shut when they’re in there. When they crossed a river they went to Jay Berry’s Spring and heard a cry from the team. Grandpa thought they just saw something but when Jay Berry and Grandpa came back the coconuts and ribbons were gone. Strangely, there was an old, dirty, pare of britches and a gunny sack that Jay Berry lost on the day he found that sour mash. Next they found the monkeys on a big, beautiful sycamore tree with Daisy’s pink and blue ribbons decorated on each limb. Each monkey had a coconut in it’s hand, this aggravated grandpa. When they got home everyone was scared because Rowdy came home without anyone else. They got home and told everyone what had happened. Everyone laughed except Daisy because she never got here ribbons.

Trading with Monkeys

There was a big storm the night Jay Berry and grandpa got back. Daisy always got scared during storms, so she came in to Jay Berry’s room. She told him about the thunder god thor. She said that when he’s mad he gets on his chariot and throws his hammer. Every time it hits something a bolt of lightning comes down and the chariot wheels rumbling make the thunder. Daisy complained about how much her leg hurt and that it was getting worse. Then Jay Berry had a dream that Rowdy and him were lost in the mountains and the old man of the mountains leaded them to the house. In the morning, the family talked about when Jay Berry fell in the well and how exciting it was. This upset him so he went with papa to the blacksmith shop.

The Storm of a lifetime

While Papa and Jay Berry were working in the blacksmith shop Daisy went out to her play house. On her way she screamed and everyone rushed up to see what the commotion was. There was a fairy ring. mama knew a story about the fairy ring and told it to all of them. She said there was a couple named Luann Garland and Johnnie George who lived in Pea Vine Hollow. There were a friendly couple and were planning to have a public wedding, but sadly Johnnie was called out to war and went missing. Luann’s heart broke, but she continued on with the wedding. Ever since Johnnie went away she never spoke a word. One day while she was walking she found a fairy ring, stepped inside, and wished for Johnnie to come back. Three days later Johnnie was walking up the rode and there were later married. So Papa, Mama, Daisy, Jay Berry, and even Rowdy stepped inside and made a wish.

Daisy’s Discovery

After Jay Berry and Rowdy ate breakfast he went down into the bottoms to see if the monkeys were alright from the storm. When he went down there everything was wet, trees had fallen everywhere. They searched for what seemed like all day and found nothing, until they started heading home. Then they heard a strange low, whimpering cry. They found what was making that noise in a washout, under a little pocket under the bank. It was the monkeys! They were wet, suffering, and on the verge of death. Jay Berry helped them by drying them, comforting them, and laying them in the sun. Jimbo figured out that Jay Berry was helping them, so he climbed right into his arms like a little kid. He took them home to the corn crib and a surprised family. Everyone pitched in to help, Daisy got some apples, Mama heated up some milk, Papa made them a straw bed, and Rowdy kept them company.

Chapter 12

bushel-a unit of dry measure containing four pecks, equivalent in the U.S. To 2150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters, and in Great Britain to 2219.36 cubic

inches or 36.38liters.

binder twine-a strong, coarse twine, as of sisal, used especially in binding sheaves of grain and bales of hay.

Chapter 13

jarring-to have a harshly unpleasant or perturbing effect on one's nerves,

feelings, thoughts, etc.

sensation-perception or awareness of stimuli through the senses.

Chapter 14

whippoorwill-a nocturnal North American nightjar having a variegated

plumage of gray, black, white, and tawny.

toadstool-any of various mushrooms having a stalk with an umbrellalike cap,

especially the agarics.

Chapter 15

quivering-to shake with a slight but rapid motion, vibrate tremulously, or

tremble.

washout-a washing out of earth by water, by heavy rain or by a flash flood.

Jay Berry and Rowdy ran all three miles to Grandpa’s store to tell him about the news. The mailman was there too and heard what had happened, so he sent a quick telegram. Grandpa was so happy that he decided to let him have a whole sack full of candy. Jay Berry also asked if grandpa had seen a fairy ring but he hadn’t. So he told him about how Daisy found in it. Grandpa told Jay Berry that he was going to get some ponies and that they would be at his place tomorrow. He thanked Grandpa for everything and headed home. He woke up the next morning miserable from the dreams he had about ponies and monkeys. He had such a bad night that mama made him go wash his face because she thought he was sick. Then they heard what sounded like a truck. It was the circus truck for the monkeys! The two men in the truck talked with them, gave them the money, gave them life passes to the show, and took the monkeys.

Monkey Money

Rowdy and Jay Berry ran to grandpa’s store to get the pony Jay Berry has always dreamed of. Grandpa got a $100 roan, and a $75 paint! Jay Berry had always dreamed about having a beautiful paint horse, but he still did some test. He tried to scare them, which frightened the roan, but the paint didn’t move. She wasn’t scared at all, so he went to take her for a walk and was heart broken. She was crippled in the back leg from a chicken wire and couldn’t ride for about six months. He also noticed that grandpa was trying to tell him something, without telling him. Jay Berry didn’t figure it out until he has walking home, and realized grandpa bought the crippled paint on purpose, to remind him that he could spent the money to fix Daisy. He brought the pony back, got the money grandpa and grandma had saved, and came home to a surprised family.

Doing the right thing

Are you sure you want the

pony?OF COURSE!

The next morning grandpa and grandma drove Mama and Daisy to the train depot and Jay Berry and Papa watched the store for grandpa. Jay Berry thought that only men being there would be fun, but then things started to happen. Both of them couldn’t cook, at all, and Jay Berry only got a decent meal when he went to grandma’s. It also started to get lonely, quiet, and boring with out Daisy or Mama. After six hard weeks, they finally were heading home. Jay Berry and Rowdy were fascinated and terrified of the train too. When Mama got off the train, she dropped her things, ran, and kissed them both. Daisy was far more exited than Mama. She came right up to Jay Berry, showed him her leg, dropped her things, jumped up, hugged him, and kissed him right in the lips! Mama surprisingly also brought home Daisy’s crutch and wanted to hang it on the wall as a memory.

All Alone

When Lee family got home, they could see someone was there, it was grandpa with the paint pony! While Jay Berry was in awe, Daisy bought the exact .22 that Jay Berry wanted in the town! Before she gave it to him, she made him promise he couldn’t shoot the helpless animals. He promised and took the gun. Then, Jay Berry and Daisy went to look at the pony, they combed her and took care of her, then Jay Berry asked if she wanted to ride it! Amazingly she said no, instead she just wanted to run all over the hills, and they did. At the end of he says, he left the Ozarks at sixteen, and ever since, he left footprints in frozen wastelands of the Arctic, the bush country of Old Mexico, the steaming jungles of Yucatan, and many other places. All that time he had looked for a fairy ring, and had never found one, because he believes in the tale of the fairy ring.

The Happy Ending

Chapter 16

flabbergasted-to overcome with surprise and bewilderment.

hightail-to go away or leave rapidly.

Chapter 17

dainty-of delicate beauty, and exquisite.

halter-a rope or strap with a noose or headstall for leading or restraining horses or cattle.

Chapter 18

flint-a hard stone, a form of silica resembling chalcedony but more opaque, less pure, and less lustrous

twilight-the soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, either from daybreak to sunrise or, more commonly, from sunset to nightfall.

Chapter 19

trance- a dazed or bewildered condition.

bridle-part of the tack or harness of a horse, consisting usually of a headstall, bit, and reins.