Storytelling for Week 9: The Mandrill and His Bum

The Mandrill and His Bum

(Mandrill)

ONCE Mandrill reigned as the ruler of all the land. Many times a day animals would come to him for his seemingly infinite wisdom and ruling thumb. What the animals did not know, however, is that Mandrill was very selfish and misguided everyone that came to see him just so he could get a laugh for himself. Mandrill loved the power that came with his title of ruler. He abused it in every way he could. He spent his days perched on his bum in his golden throne and making life hard for everyone else.

Monkey came to Mandrill and asked why his stomach hurt after he ingested anything with milk. Mandrill knew that it was just a simple case of lactose intolerance, but he told Monkey that his stomach was hurting because all he could ingest were bananas. Monkey believed Mandrill and vowed to never eat anything but bananas for the rest of eternity. Mandrill cackled.

Giraffe came to Mandrill and told him of the difficulty he had in reaching the leaves of the trees for nourishment. Mandrill knew that Giraffe simply needed to just eat grass for that was within his reach. Instead, Mandrill told Giraffe to keep stretching and stretching his neck until the leaves were in his reach. Giraffe vowed to stretch his neck until he could not stretch anymore. Mandrill cackled.

Alligator came to Mandrill and asked why he was so cold all the time. Mandrill knew Alligator was always cold because he was a cold blooded reptile and that was just how he worked. Mandrill told Alligator, however, that if he wanted to get warm he just had to lay in the sun with his mouth wide open. Alligator took his advice and is still determined to this day to get warm by holding his mouth agape. Mandrill cackled.

One day, traveling Coyote watched the Mandrill sit on his throne and give the horrible advice to all the animals. He thought it peculiar that these animals so willingly do as they were suggested by this Mandrill creature. As he continued to watch, Coyote realized that Mandrill was being a horrid creature and tricking all the animals. He decided to do something about it.

Coyote went to Monkey, Giraffe, and Alligator along with all the other animals and told them of his observations. The animals were outraged and vowed to get revenge on their tyrant ruler.

When Mandrill slept in his tall tree one night, the animals decided to line the throne's seat with blueberries in hopes that Mandrill would sit on them and squish them all come morning. This would stain his bum blue, thus making Mandrill the laughing stock of all the land. Mandrill would not be the one laughing upon sunrise.

The next morning, Mandrill sleepily swung to his throne over the land and plopped right down in the chair without thinking twice. When his bum hit the seat, a gigantic squishing sound erupted and Mandrill froze in his place. His eyes widened as he watched his subjects trickle from the forest line in a booming cloud of laughter. Mandrill leaped into the air and looked at his now completely blue bum in shock.

Mandrill no longer ruled the land after this incident. He now is known for his blue bum and is often the laughing stock of all the animals upon glimpsing his rear end.

Author's Note: This story is based off of the British North America Unit but no single story in particular. I really love the personification of animals in general throughout Native American stories. I also love how each story explains at least one phenomena of the world. So I decided to combine my two favorite aspects of Native American stories into this original tale about the blue bottom of a Mandrill! I hope you enjoyed it :)

Bibliography: Judson, Myth and Legends of British North America, 1917.