That night, the forest was calm and peaceful. Crickets sang softly, leaves whispered in the cool breeze, and the CUTIS family settled down after a long, busy day. CUTIS curled up beside Mom, his tiny arms hugging her warm fur, while Dad kept watch nearby. After playing, eating, and exploring all day, CUTIS was completely exhausted. His eyes slowly closed, his tail twitched once or twice, and before anyone noticed, he drifted into a deep sleep.
That was when the dream began.
In CUTIS’s dream, he woke up feeling very important. He was standing in the middle of the forest clearing, but something was different. All the monkeys were sitting in neat rows, staring at him with wide eyes. Birds perched quietly above, deer peeked from behind trees, and even butterflies seemed to pause in the air. CUTIS puffed out his chest proudly.
“Why is everyone looking at me?” he wondered.
Suddenly, he looked down and froze.
“Oh no…”
CUTIS realized he was missing something very important—his fur around the waist was completely gone, leaving him embarrassingly bare! His eyes widened in horror. He tried to cover himself with his hands, but his hands felt too small. His tail? It refused to cooperate, wagging happily instead of helping.
The animals began whispering.
“Is that CUTIS?”
“Why is he like that?”
“He looks so funny!”
CUTIS’s face turned bright red. He wanted to disappear into the ground. He tried to run, but his feet felt stuck, like they were glued to the earth. Every step he took was slow and awkward, and the crowd’s laughter grew louder.
Just when CUTIS thought things couldn’t get worse, Mom appeared.
She walked toward him calmly, holding a leaf. CUTIS felt a wave of relief. “Mom will help me,” he thought. But instead of covering him, Mom gently smiled and said, “CUTIS, why didn’t you groom properly today?”
CUTIS gasped.
Before he could answer, Dad showed up too. Dad crossed his arms and shook his head seriously. “This is not how a strong monkey behaves,” Dad said. CUTIS wanted to cry. His ears drooped, and his tail wrapped tightly around his leg.
Suddenly, a loud drumbeat echoed through the forest.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
CUTIS turned around and nearly fainted. The other monkeys had turned the clearing into a stage. Vines hung like decorations, and mushrooms formed a spotlight. Someone shouted, “Welcome to the Monkey Talent Show!”
CUTIS panicked.
“I don’t want to be in the show!” he cried. “And I definitely don’t want to be like this!”
But the crowd cheered loudly. CUTIS was pushed gently toward the center of the stage. His heart pounded. His legs trembled. He tried to hide behind a tree, but the tree suddenly moved—because it was actually Dad in disguise, wearing leaves on his head.
“Performance time,” Dad said firmly.
CUTIS felt tears welling up. He opened his mouth to explain, but instead of words, a loud, silly sound came out.
Prrrrt!
The entire forest went silent.
Then… everyone burst into laughter.
Birds fell off branches laughing. Monkeys rolled on the ground holding their stomachs. Even Dad tried to stay serious but failed, turning away to hide his smile. CUTIS was mortified. His face felt hotter than the sun. He covered his mouth in shock.
“I didn’t mean to do that!” CUTIS cried.
But his body betrayed him again. As he tried to step back, he slipped on a banana peel that appeared out of nowhere. He flew into the air in slow motion, arms flailing, eyes spinning, tail spinning like a helicopter.
SPLAT!
He landed right in a pile of sticky, squishy mud.
The crowd laughed even harder.
Mud covered CUTIS from head to toe. At least now he was covered, but this wasn’t how he wanted it. He tried to stand up with dignity, but his feet slid again, and he accidentally struck a ridiculous pose—one leg up, arms stretched, mouth open.
Someone shouted, “Look! CUTIS invented a new dance!”
Music started playing from nowhere. Drums, flutes, and clapping filled the air. CUTIS tried to protest, but his body began dancing on its own. His hips shook, his tail swirled, and his feet tapped wildly. The crowd went wild.
“Dance, CUTIS, dance!”
CUTIS wanted the dream to end. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished as hard as he could to wake up. But when he opened them, it only got worse.
Now he was sitting in school.
All the baby monkeys were there, sitting nicely in rows. The teacher monkey pointed at CUTIS and said, “CUTIS, please come to the front and explain why you are late.”
CUTIS stood up confidently—until he realized he was still muddy, still embarrassing, and still missing his fur. The classroom gasped. CUTIS tried to speak, but his voice came out like a squeaky bird.
“Squeak… squeak…”
The class exploded with laughter.
Then the teacher handed him a giant mirror.
“Look at yourself,” the teacher said.
CUTIS stared into the mirror and screamed.
Instead of his normal cute face, he saw a banana with his eyes and tail stuck on it. He waved his arms, and the banana waved back. He jumped, and the banana jumped too.
“No! This isn’t me!” CUTIS cried.
Suddenly, the banana slipped on a peel and fell—straight down.
CUTIS felt like he was falling from the sky, screaming as the wind rushed past his ears.
“AHHHHH!”
At the very last second, he jolted awake.
CUTIS shot upright, heart pounding, eyes wide open. He looked around frantically. The forest was quiet. Mom was sleeping peacefully beside him. Dad was nearby, calm and alert. No crowds. No stage. No mud. No laughter.
CUTIS quickly looked down at himself.
Fur? Present.
Tail? Normal.
No mud. No banana.
He let out a long, relieved sigh.
“Thank goodness…” he whispered.
But then something else happened.
As CUTIS relaxed, he accidentally made a tiny sound.
Prrrt.
CUTIS froze.
Mom stirred slightly, then opened one eye. She looked at CUTIS, then sniffed the air. A small smile appeared on her face. Dad glanced over too, raising an eyebrow.
CUTIS’s face turned red all over again.
Mom gently pulled CUTIS closer and laughed softly. “Bad dream?” she teased.
CUTIS nodded, hiding his face in Mom’s fur. Dad chuckled quietly, shaking his head. “At least it was only a dream,” Dad said.
CUTIS stayed very still, hoping no one else noticed. His tail wrapped tightly around himself, and he promised silently that he would never eat too many bananas before sleeping again.
The next morning, CUTIS woke up cheerful but cautious. When he saw other monkeys, he quickly checked himself, just to be sure. When one monkey laughed loudly, CUTIS jumped, thinking they were laughing at him. Then he realized—it was just a normal day.
Later, as CUTIS played, he slipped slightly and struck a silly pose. Everyone laughed kindly, not cruelly. CUTIS paused… then laughed too.
Maybe the dream was embarrassing. Maybe it was ridiculous. But it taught CUTIS something important: even when funny things happen, even when you feel embarrassed, it’s okay to laugh at yourself.
And somewhere deep inside his mind, the banana was probably still dancing. 😂🍌🐒
