SUMMER OF THE MONKEYSby James

CHAPTER 1JAY BERRY AND THE

MONKEY• Jay Berry could not have a better life,

then the monkeys came. They drove out his mind trying to catch them. But there is a before story to this story. Jay’s parents were sharecroppers and hated it. Once everything looked good mom had twins, Jay and Daisy. Jay looked great but Daisy had her leg twisted up. When things looked bad grandpa told mom and dad they could have some land. Dad bought a bunch of animals and took off. Once they got there they were amazed at the scenery. Mom, after a long time picked a spot for the house. They got settled in and Jay had a dandy pocket knife and a real good dog. The one day Jay went to get the families milk cow and saw a monkey. Dad thought it was a pet of a rich man, but Jay thought it was something else.

CHAPTER 2MONKEY TRAPS

• Jay went go tell his grandpa about the monkey business and go get some things for his mother. When he got he said to his grandpa in a really loud voice, “Rowdy treed a monkey” (Page 16). He said they were trained monkeys $2 apiece and there was 1 that was $100. Jay could not get this out his head for the rest of the day. So grandpa and Jay made traps and in the process nearly cut off one of grandpa’s fingers. Grandpa put meals sacks on each of the traps so they could catch them alive. He takes off for home when grandpa reminds about what mom wants. He gets the things and some candy and takes off.

CHAPTER 3MOUNTAIN MAN

• When Jay got home he told his dad about the reward and $100 monkey. When he heard this he couldn’t get it out of his head either. After that he talked to Daisy about it. When he mentioned monkeys she thought he was going to skin them. He told her that he was going to catch them alive, that made her okay. She told him about a man who takes care of the hills. She said that he didn’t like boys who killed animals. She said that he would die or get really bad luck and not catch them. He just went to go catch them after that.

VOCAB WORDS• Chapter 1

• 1. Ramrod= A rod used to ram the charge into a muzzle-loading firearm

• 2. Terrapin= Turtle that lives in freshwater or tidewater

• Chapter 2

• 1. Rind= tough outer covering of fruits, esp. of the melon and lemon

• 2. Jasper= something that is valuable

• Chapter 3

• 1. Liable= likely or possible

• 2. Contraption= device or gadget

CHAPTER 4NOT CATCHING MONKEYS

Jay Berry could not get any sleep what so every that night. He saw monkeys with prices and the hundred dollar monkey would laugh at him. He so had a good sleep dreaming of ponies and guns. He got up early and after awhile mom made breakfast and lunch Jay and he took off. Rowdy saw a rabbit and took off after it but Jay stopped because of fear of the mountain man. Soon he made all his traps and waited. After a long time the monkeys came, but the $100 monkey outsmarted Jay. Then he tried another trick but that was foiled too. He found another place to set traps but all his gear was stolen. Soon he hit the $100 monkey 2 times and he was driven out of there.

CHAPTER 5THE BUTTERFLY

PROFESSOR• Jay ran and ran and didn’t follow the

path. His clothes got torn and ripped due to this. When he got home he told mom and dad about what happened in those deep bottoms. When it came to mom and Daisy they were hard to crack. He was going to crack mom then Daisy came along and ruined it. She asked questions and that is all. Mom made Jay change in order to go to the store. When he got there he told grandpa about the monkey trouble. Then grandpa gave him a butterfly net. Then he told him about the butterfly professor. He came nearly ruined everything and left this net. That’s how grandpa got the old net. After that grandma called him.

CHAPTER 6THE NET

• He hid the net and walked into the house. Grandma was the best grandma and doctor a boy could have. She gave him lots to eat. She told him he was getting skinner, but he said he was hard. In the end Jay got pie, milk and bread. He tired to use the net but it didn’t work on wild animals. So he tested it out on their duck Gandy. He was mean and he and Jay were enemies. After the net was around lots of stuff happened. After it was over Gandy flew off. Mama and Daisy thought he was clear out of the country by now. Just then dad rode up and Jay told him what happened. After that mom wasn’t happy but dad let Jay hunt monkeys still. So they went dig a hole in the ground for Jay to hid.

CHAPTER 7MONKEY-CATCHING FEVER

• Jay got up early again and after breakfast went to go get some monkeys. Along the way they met Gandy, and he was in terrible condition. After that they got to the hole and covered everything up and waited. They had some visitors along the way but they still stayed there. When the monkeys came they didn’t suspect a thing at all, Jay ended with two monkeys. Both Rowdy and Jay got bitten by the monkeys. They started off for home when the big monkey came. Most of the time he was bluffing, then they were tugging at the net. Soon all the monkeys surrounded Jay and Rowdy. After a ton of stuff happened Jay had no monkeys and he was bitten all over. But the real problem was going home.

VOCAB WORDS• Chapter 4

• Anvil= a heavy block of iron or steel on which hot metals are shaped by hammering

• Briers= bushes that have a thorny or prickly wood stem

• Chapter 5

• Britches= pants or trousers

• Crutch= something disabled people use

• Chapter 6

• Lilac= European shrub

• Tonsil= either of a pair of oval-shaped masses of spongy tissue that lie one on each side of the throat at the back of the mouth

• Chapter 7

• Squall= a sudden loud cry

• Whimper= to cry weakly or softly

CHAPTER 8MONKEY BITE• When Jay and Rowdy got home Daisy and

Mama were in an instant were taking care of him and Rowdy. Daisy was afraid of the monkeys having rabies. Papa said that the monkeys would be vaccinated of all kinds of diseases. While they were cleaning the wounds of Jay and Rowdy they were hoping all around town and back. The next day Jay and Rowdy were so stiff they couldn’t move. The whole family told him to stay in bed for a few days. But when Daisy mentioned her Red Cross nursing, Jay began to get up. He never did like it when she did this to him. Then they got Rowdy in Jay’s room through a wheel barrow. She then went to work, she changed bandages, washed, took his temperature. Then she gave him water every 5 minutes, that did not turn out very well. Three days later Jay was going to grandpa’s. When he got there he told grandpa everything. Then grandpa told him about a friend making idea. Jay took off for home.

CHAPTER 9DRUNK MONKEYS• Instead of going into the house Jay went

straight to the cellar to get apples to make friends the monkeys. It took him awhile to actually get to the bottoms due to Rowdy and Daisy. But when he did get out there he found a whiskey still and the monkeys at the same time. He found the monkeys acting strangely around him. Then he figured out that they were drunk and that was why they were acting so strangely. Then a small monkey fell in a barrel of sour mash and when was out the other monkeys cleaned him off. Then Jay made friends with the big monkey and he made him have some sour mash, after a lot of stick and mud throwing. Soon they were drinking and drinking and sooner or later Jay passed out. He woke up to find his birches stolen. Then they went home, first off it took them way to long to get home, and when they did they were trouble. When Mama got to him he was in bed, when he woke it was to mom and dad that he woke to. Mom said the monkeys were going to drown him and he had a dream about it.

CHAPTER 10CHAPTER 10NOT THE NOT THE

CASTOR OIL!CASTOR OIL!• Jay woke up feeling terrible, he couldn’t get out of

bed. Papa came and talked with him for awhile, he said that they were going to the store. After they left, Daisy went to work on Jay, but he didn’t like it at all. Although he was being complicated she still went to work on him. Jay knew she was in a Red cross nursing spell and he just let her go to work. After looking him over she found out that he had a high fever, she also figured out that his tongue was coated. To get rid of that she simply poured castor oil and he threw up. But she wasn’t even going to give him any, she just wanted him to see it. Soon Jay was drinking by the bucket for water he was so thirsty. Daisy said that she couldn’t get near Rowdy, and Jay said it was because of the Red Cross uniform. So she filled the hole with water that Rowdy was in. But Rowdy soon became overpowered and was being treated. Two days later Jay was feeling great. After Jay had a lot of breakfast he went to grandpa. When he got there he told grandpa what happened. Then he said they were going to town to the library to find out how to catch those monkeys.

CHAPTER 11Off to Town We Go• Dad woke Jay up just before sunrise,

and when he got downstairs he found everyone up. Mama didn’t like the idea of going to the library. Soon they were on there way to town with Rowdy coming along. But it wasn’t long before Rowdy went after mama coon and her babies and he lost. Then grandpa let Jay drive across the river. At noon they reached town, along the way they saw a Cherokee college. They stopped at hotel for the night and they put Rowdy in a room called the tack room. Then Jay went to bed and woke up about 10:00 a.m. After having breakfast he went out to see grandpa and they were off. When they got there they found out they had to be quiet. When they found the book and where looking through it Rowdy came in and sung a little. Just as Jay was tying Rowdy up grandpa came out and said they needed to go down town to go get something.

VOCAB WORDS• Chapters 8-11

• Anxious= waiting eagerly for something to happen

• Coax= gently urging or persuading someone to do something

• Covey= a small flock of birds of the same kind

• Desperation= a feeling that everything is wrong and will turn out badly

• Dinky= small and of poor quality; shabby

• Gawk= to look at strangely or in surprise; to stare

• Hydrophobia= a disease, also called rabies

• Liniment= a medicine rubbed into the skin to relieve muscular stiffness and pain

Chapter 12Coco for Coconuts

• Soon Grandpa and Jay were off to the store to get coconuts for monkey traps, grandpa said they love coconuts. When they got there grandpa got a whole half bushel of coconuts. Also Jay met a pretty girl who bought ribbon, candy, and a shaving mug. When they the girl winked at Jay and the storekeeper thought grandpa was crazy. Grandpa said he should go kiss her to get her to stop winking. Also Rowdy got to have some jawbreakers. When they were on the road grandpa told him about the trap they were going to make, Jay thought was going to be cool. Also they saw a monkey head in the coco nuts. After they crossed the river a 2nd time they went to a spring and got a nice cool drink from a spring of water. But while they were gone Jimbo traded the coconuts for Jay’ pants. When grandpa went to the house and told the family he left angry. The monkeys also happened to steal Daisy’s ribbons, and she was mad. She nearly gave him the silent treatment but he let her have Sally’s next calf, and that shut her up. Jay went to bed terrible.

Chapter 13Humdinger

• While Jay was sleeping a big storm aroused him. Just as he had woken up Daisy came to his room because she was afraid of storms. Then she told him about a god named Thor. She said the book was in the set that grandma had given them. But he said catching monkeys was more important, and when he said that word he went little crazy. He thought that the monkeys drowned in the rain. Daisy tried to tell him a story but he refused and went to bed. He had strange dream, he dreamed that he was lost and soon tired, he fell asleep and the OMOTM showed him the way to his house. He woke up and found a beautiful world to met him. Daisy said the rain would make the corn grow 20 feet high. Daisy had to clean her playhouse and Jay wanted to get to the bottoms, Mom said he would get sick like the time he fell in a well. Sally Gooden was gone for a week, Rowdy was bawling, the animals went crazy, and one of Daisy’s cats climbed the house. After that Daisy went to go clean her playhouse while papa and Jay went to go to their blacksmith’s shop. Rowdy was going to follow Jay and papa into the blacksmith’s shop but when he saw where they where going he put his tail between his legs and left.

Chapter 14Da Fairy Ring• In thirty minutes the Blacksmith's shop was loud

and ringing. Daisy went up to her playhouse carrying a broom along with Rowdy. Papa said her leg was getting worse and worse but he will do something about that thing. Then Daisy screamed and Papa thought it was a snake but Jay figured out that it was not by the fact that Rowdy wasn’t bawling. When they got there they found a fairy ring. Soon Mama came was also blown away. Mama said that you make a wish and it would come true. She told an old story about how a couple were separated due to war and it was just before their wedding. Then the wife found a fairy ring and her husband came home 3 nights later. They soon realized that everything was silent, then they all made their wishes even Rowdy did. When they went to the house a hen cackled her head off and everything seemed to wake up after that. Mama and Daisy went to the house while Papa and Jay went to the blacksmith’s to finish what they had started. When they got done with it Dinner was ready and they were there and ready to eat that yummy food, num nums in yo tum tums.

Chapter 15Too many Monkeys

• After eating some breakfast Jay went to the bottoms to go find the monkeys. He tried call Jimbo but there was no response, and Rowdy wouldn’t go 5 feet from him. Then they tried to go through the underbrush, but that was harder, sometimes Jay couldn’t go straight through he have to crawl. After awhile Jay gave up and went back, but he thought he heard something. But he only thought he did and he heard again and took off in that direction. Then he found Jimbo and the monkeys in a hole. He saw that the monkeys needed and so he helped them. He dried all the monkeys off and took twenty-nine monkeys, including Jimbo back to the house with him. When they got there the family was amazed and speechless. Mama was afraid of Jimbo until Daisy got him, that’s when mama wasn’t afraid. After that Jay ran as fast as he could to the store.

Vocab• Chapters 12-15

• Anvil= heavy steel or iron block on which metal is hammered and shaped

• Codger= odd or cranky elderly fellow

• Pneumonia= lung inflammation caused by infection

• Milling= to move in a circle or in an eddying mass

• Whippoorwill= nocturnal North American bird with a distinctive call

• Eddy= whirlpool

• Humdinger= remarkable or outstanding

• Liniment= liquid or lotion to relieve pain

Chapter 16Treats For

Everyone!!• Jay ran as fast as he could to grandpa’s store and he still had some steam

left when he got there. He told grandpa about the monkeys and how he caught them and there happened to be the mailman there. So grandpa had the mailman sent a telegram to the circus. After telling grandpa how he had caught the monkeys grandpa told him to fill an entire bag full of candy, and that is what he did. He also gave a giant ham bone to Rowdy. Then Jay asked if grandpa had seen a fairy ring and he said no, Jay told him about the fairy ring, grandpa wanted to know Jay’s wish but he turned him down. Jay went home and gave the entire sack to Daisy. After that Jay and dad checked on the monkeys. And after dinner they had bible reading. Then dad and Jay checked on the monkeys and they were fine. After Jay had a terrible time sleeping he woke up. After having breakfast the circus truck pulled up, Rowdy didn’t like that truck. Jay gave the monkeys to the circus and they were off, but they had kept the deal and gave the money to Jay. Jay then gave $6 to Daisy for feeding the monkeys. And Jay went to get his pony

Chapter 17Should’ve had a V8

• Jay ran all the way to grandpa's store with one hand in his pocket to make sure the money would not fall out. The two ponies that grandpa got were ready to be bought, the two ponies were a roan and a paint. Jay wanted the paint because of the beauty and fastness. But the pony could not run because of a wound on its leg. Grandpa said that it would heal in 4-5 weeks and that he should probably take the roan. After a lot of talking with grandpa and wondering he picked the paint pony. Grandpa wasn’t entirely sure about this he told him to discuss with it mom and dad. So Jay went back to his house and along the way he tested the horse. He made it follow him and do some other things. But when he got to the house he regretted getting the horse because he saw Daisy, He remembered, should have had a V8. He went back and gave the pony to grandpa and said he was going give all the money to Daisy so she could get her leg fixed. Grandma also gave all the money grandma and grandpa had saved. When he got home he gave the money to Daisy and Daisy got her money and dad got his and mom got all of her money. Then Jay told dad that they would take care of the store while grandpa and grandma took mom and Daisy went to the train to go to Oklahoma. Then they shook on it.

Chapter 18Legs n’ stuff

• When Jay woke up he had to follow orders from both mom and grandma. Then grandpa, grandma, mom, and Daisy were off. Then dad and Jay took care of the store and Jay got sick the rest of the day because he ate to much candy. The next day Jay had to cook and dad had to plow. Jay’s totally amazing cooking skillz failed him. Then they had a small dinner of cornbread, but Jay didn’t starve while mama was gone, grandma fed Jay. They learned that Daisy had the surgery happen. Then nothing for awhile and that nearly killed them. Then Jay asked the OMOTM for help. The next night they learned that the surgery was a success and they were coming home. The nest Dad, Jay, and Rowdy went for the train. They got there and wet Mama and Daisy there and there was a lot of kissing and hugging and going home.

Chapter 19Guns and horses= Jay Berry

• When they got home grandpa was there and he just happened to have the horse Jay has been wanting. Jay was so happy and Daisy got him his .22 he has been wanting, but he had to promise that he would not shoot any little animals. They checked out the horse and then Daisy wanted to just run. And they ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran all over the hills. Two years later Jay Berry Lee left the farm. He was an explorer for the rest of his life and he went to the Artic and to Mexico. Went to the Rocky mountains, But never forgot the day were he almost gave everything he wanted for his sister. Never forgot all the unknown areas and the very well known areas. Never Forget.

Vocab• Vocab for chapters 16-19

• Gelding= male horse

• Roan= horse of a yellow-brown or reddish-brown sprinkled with gray or white

• Snuff can= small can for holding snuff (a powdery tobacco taken in through the nose)

• Halter= rope or strap with a noose or headstall by which horses are led or tied

• Currycomb= comb or brush with metal teeth for rubbing and cleaning a horse

• Alfalfa= a plant of the pea family with deep roots, grown as food for livestock, can be cut several times and dried for hay

• Hightail= run quickly, hurry

• Streamlined= having a shape that offers the least possible resistance to air or water (fastest cars have streamlined bodies)