Marita, the good fairy of the forest Kalikasan, was enjoying a lovely day. She was very happy with how the flowers bloomed and how the animals slept soundly. She closes her eyes to take in the quiet when suddenly, she was astounded by an ugly, deafening sound…. Noisy trucks cutting down the trees!. Marita lost the smile on her face. In its place rolled her precious tears as she ran to protect her beloved animals.
Far from the maddening noise, a happy orangutan family was having a meal. “Hold on tight, Gus, and just enjoy the ride!”, Cornelius, the huge orangutan father looked back at his little son, as he walked on all fours legs. Gus, his adorable junior, hung on to his mother, Xera, a lovely and smaller version of Cornelius. She expertly climbed tree branches to pick fruits and tree barks. “Whee, mom, this is fun! …and yummy too!!!”, Gus exclaimed.
Xera saw more fruits at the top part of the tree so she put Gus down on the ground first. “Stay here, my little one, and don’t go wandering too far. Mama will be back with more yummy treats for you. Be a good boy, you hear!” Xera’s loved her son dearly. She would never allow anyone to get him from her, no! What happened to her baby brother, Xyrus was one thing that she dreaded to happen to Gus.
A few years ago, humans captured Xyrus and when their parents tried to stop them, the humans shot them dead and baby Xyrus was carried away by the bad people. Xera could not do anything but swear that it will never happen to her and to her future children.
Gus sat on the ground nibbling on some fruits when a little girl handed out a banana, his favorite food! “Here, cutie pie, have a banana!” Gus tentatively took it and looked at the creature with wonder. Keesha Jabar was a pretty eight-year old girl who lived with her father, Keno. He wasn’t around all the time, working as a faller who cut down trees in the forest with his men.
He loved Keesha so much and to make up for his absences, Keno gave her everything she ever wanted – a huge dollhouse complete with all the tiny furniture and dolls, the latest computer gadgets, a shiny red bicycle and a puppy. Today, Keesha wanted to keep the cute little monkey who took her banana. But a bigger orangutan quickly grabbed her new friend and went off to the dark woods. “Hmm! Now I know what to ask my Daddy for!”
Keesha wanted the cute monkey to be her pet. She went to the forest with lots of bananas with plans of capturing him and bring him to her home and then shut him in a cage where he will forever be hers. On her way, she met Fairy Marita, who blocked Keesha to walk another step. “Out of my way, lady!”, Keesha impatiently said. Marita merely shook her head and did not move. Keesha began to feel angry with this stranger.
“What’s your problem? I need to get something that belongs to me, so get out!”
Marita asked her, “And what might that be, young lady? As I see it, you have everything you can possibly have!”
“It’s none of your business!” Keesha marched forward, her eyes scanning the trees for a shaggy red monkey with beady eyes. Oh! She just couldn’t forget that adorable face! She wants to hug him, and bring him home, dress him in the most magnificent doll clothes and play tea party with him. She could just picture the two of them together… her newest toy to show off, and it’s alive!
A while later, the monkey swooped by, eagerly looking at her bananas. Keesha cooed and Gus made some kissing sounds that she found so adorable. As Gus reached for his first banana, Marita appeared and said to Keesha, “You can’t take him with you. This is his home and he has a family here. If you do, he will not live long enough, as he is not meant to live outside the forest.”
“It’s you again! Why don’t you leave me alone and mind your own business, lady!” Keesha hissed. “I know how to take care of him. Now get out or I’ll tell my daddy! He’s nearby, working. As a matter of fact, I hear his truck and chain saw.”
Marita sadly looked at Keesha and Gus who was hungrily eating the bananas. She knew Keesha had to be taught a lesson. She also knew that once she learns it, she may be able to help the forest of Kalikasan. Marita raised her magic wand and pointed it to Keesha. The little girl immediately turned into an orangutan like Gus. He smacked his lips and asked her, “Hey, you new around here? C’mon, I’ll show you around!”
Keesha felt her arms and was horrified to feel hair all over her body. She wanted to run, but then she was walking on both her arms and legs. She was still in a state of shock when Gus introduced her to Cornelius and Xera. “Mom, Dad, this is… sorry, I didn’t get your name.” Keesha, surprised that monkeys could talk, merely whispered her name. “Keesha”.
Xera offered her some leaves and bark to eat as food, which Keesha refused. Gus excitedly tugged on Keesha’s hairy arm and invited her to climb a small shady tree. Reluctantly, Keesha followed. “What has happened to me? I’m a monkey!!!” she thought. She began to cry.
Gus looked up to her and asked, “What’s the matter, Keesha, miss your mommy?” Keesha threw Gus an annoyed look, “I don’t have a mommy!! I want to go home to my daddy! This is all your fault! I’m not really an ugly monkey like you! I’m a pretty little girl with soft, smooth skin….and not hairy like this!!!….Oooooh, if I could just get my hands on that lady!” Keesha realized she was grunting in her anger.
“You mean Fairy Marita? No! You’re mistaken! She’s a wonderful, kind fairy who looks after all of us in the forest! She makes sure we have enough trees to climb, food to eat, and that our forest is kept as cozy and beautiful just like it is now.” Gus defended.
“Beautiful? You call this place beautiful? Uh uh, Gus, how long have you been kept in here? You don’t know that trees are falling down this very minute, being cut to make houses and ships and chairs for us, humans.
I’m proud to say my daddy is behind it all. Because he works so hard, we are very rich. People buy those trees from him.” Keesha was feeling proud and said, “When I change back to being a girl, I’m gonna take you with me to my big house to play with the best toys in the world. We’ll sleep on a soft, warm bed, not like this hard, bumpy tree!”
“But I am happy here, and I love this tree! It would be a shame if your daddy cuts it down. Gosh, it would be a disaster if he cut all the trees down. Where will we live? What do we eat? Keesha you have got to stop him!!!!” It was the first time Gus felt that so scared. He’s always felt content and serene in his wonderful home together with his loving family.
Just then, a man started climbing the tree to capture little monkey, Keesha. He said, “Aren’t you darling, you little pongi!…Come to Papa, you’re gonna make me a lot of money!” Keesha screamed. “Gus! What do I do now? I don’t know how to climb down!!!” Gus bit the man’s ankle just as it was moving its way up the tree.
The man yelped, “Ow, ow, so there’s another one. I’m gonna get you too!” and his big arm swung towards Gus who was quick enough to climb down the other way. “Keesha, just grab on to a branch and jump!” Keesha did just that and landed safely on the ground. Both monkeys ran towards the darker side of the forest, leaving a big man stuck in a tree, nursing his pained ankle.
Gus reported what happened to Cornelius and Xera. They anxiously hugged the two smaller orangutans. “What are we to do, Cornelius? It’s happening all over again.” Xera, teary-eyed looked at her husband. “I can’t let them take the children. They will just be kept as pets in the homes of humans or put in cages for people to stare at when they are supposed to be free climbing trees and happily running around in the forest.” Keesha felt guilty hearing Xera’s words.
Cornelius, smacked his lips loudly, “But now they know where we are and they will come back for us. Isn’t it enough that they are chopping down trees, killing so many animals along the way, leaving them homeless and hungry!….now, they want to take the little ones away from their families.” The four orangutans walked deeper into the forest in silence each thinking of what just happened and what they could do to survive.
Keesha’s eyes widened as she saw somebody very familiar. “Daddy! You’ve come to get me! I’m here, Daddy!” But the man did not even hear nor look at her. “Shush, Keesha, be quiet. If they hear us, we’re in danger.” Keesha didn’t feel good about what was happening. She thought she was somehow to be blamed. These orangutans were nothing but kind and sweet to her, and now, they were losing their homes and their lives were in danger. If only she could do something to help them.
Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea! She was going to talk to her father. She quickly climbed down the tree, careful not to be seen by the orangutan family. Forgetting that she was still a monkey, she ran to her father. “Daddy, Daddy, don’t!!!!” Keno saw the little orangutan running towards him. “Well, I’ll be….what a cute fellow!” Keno extended his arms and Keesha immediately hugged him. A while later, the man Keesha saw in the other tree approached them.
“I’ll take her. I’ve been trying to catch this impish creature yesterday but her little friend bit my ankle.” Keno turned away from him, “And why were you trying to get this adorable little monkey?” The man sneered, “Keno, what you’re holding costs a lot of money. Give her to me, she would be easy to sell and I’ll split the money with you.” Keesha was feeling nervous at what was happening. It was a bad idea she had. She even forgot she was not a little girl anymore.
She was even more surprised when her father agreed to the mean old man. “Fifty-fifty?” Keno negotiated. “Done deal, my man, now hand her over.”, the man extended his arms to get Keesha who struggled to break free, but the man was stronger than her. She made shrieking sounds, eyes helplessly searching for Gus, Cornelia and Xera.
Suddenly, Fairy Marita appeared at the perfect moment. She raised her magic wand and quickly turned back Keesha into a little girl. She had this planned all along for Keesha to be transformed from a bratty little girl to a kind and considerate one.
The men’s eyes grew wide, most especially Keno’s. “Oh my darling, what has happened?” Keesha rushed to embrace her father and pleaded, “Please, Daddy, stop chopping down the trees! You are killing the forest….you are killing my friends!” and she looked at Gus, Cornelia and Xera who stood transfixed.
Keno, overwhelmed with guilt at almost selling her own daughter just nodded his head. “Of course, sweetheart!”
A few weeks later, everything was quiet and happy again at the Kalikasan forest. The loggers have left the protected land. Keesha came to visit her orangutan friends to assure them that she and her daddy have been talking to people about protecting the forest from illegal logging and the capture of endangered animals like them.
She even thanked Fairy Marita for turning her into an orangutan because she learned a very important lesson that being greedy and selfish harms so many other creatures. She even shared that lesson to her father, Keno, who agreed with her wholeheartedly.
She still thought Gus was cute….so cute she always hugged him, and he allowed it. “I’ll always be your pet, Keesha, just don’t take me away from my home!” To that, Keesha smiled, happy that in a strange way, she did her part in saving her orangutan family.