The Monkey and the Sloth

The Monkey and the Sloth Jane MEADOW

High in the green rainforest, morning light spilled through the leaves like golden rain. Milo the monkey woke up with a yawn and a stretch and a wiggle of his long curling tail. He was small and wiry, with warm brown fur, a tan face, and big amber eyes that sparkled with mischief. 'Today,' he chirped, 'I will race through the whole rainforest!' 1

Milo leaped from branch to branch, quick as a wink. He swung past red flowers and buzzing bees and shiny wet leaves. 'Too slow!' he called to a sleepy frog. 'Too slow!' he teased a beetle on a log. Milo loved to race, and he never, ever stopped to look around. Zoom, zoom, zoom went his little brown feet. 2

Then, on a wide branch, Milo saw something new. A greybrown animal hung upside down, calm as a cloud, with long curved claws and a slow, sleepy smile. 'Hello,' said the animal softly. 'I am Sam. I am a sloth.' Milo bounced up and down. 'I am Milo! Do you want to race?' Sam blinked his gentle dark eyes. 'Race? Oh no. I like to take my time.' 3

Milo tilted his head. 'Take your time? What does that mean?' Sam pointed one long claw at a leaf beside him. 'Look here,' he said. Milo looked. On the leaf sat a tiny green frog, no bigger than a pea, with golden eyes. 'Whoa!' said Milo. 'I almost raced right past him.' Sam smiled his slow smile. 'There is lots to see, if you go slow.' 4

'But racing is fun!' said Milo, and he zipped up a vine and down again. Sam watched, hanging quietly. 'It looks fun,' said Sam. 'It also looks tiring.' Milo stopped, panting. 'Maybe a little,' he admitted. 'Do you ever go fast?' Sam shook his round head. 'Not really. My claws are made for holding, not for hurrying.' 5

Milo had an idea. 'Then let's explore together!' he said. 'You go your speed, and I'll try your speed too.' Sam nodded slowly. 'That sounds nice.' So the two friends set off along the branch. Milo took one step. Then he took another. It felt strange and slow, like walking through honey. 'Is this how you always move?' he asked. 6

Sam chuckled. 'Yes. Slow and steady.' Milo wanted to zoom, but he stayed beside his new friend. 'Tell me what you see,' he said. Sam looked around with his gentle half-closed eyes. 'I see a raindrop sliding down a leaf,' said Sam. 'It looks like a tiny glass marble.' Milo leaned closer. It did! It sparkled and wobbled and plopped. 7

They moved a little farther. Sam pointed with his long curved claw. 'Look up there.' High on a fern hung a spider web, shining with dew. Each thread held tiny beads of light. Milo's amber eyes grew wide. 'I've swung past that web a hundred times,' he whispered. 'I never saw it shine like that.' 'That is because you were racing,' said Sam kindly. 8

Milo tried to remember the last time he had looked up. He couldn't. He was always zooming, leaping, dashing. 'Do you think I miss a lot?' he asked. Sam nodded slowly. 'Maybe a little. But you also see things I don't. You see the whole forest at once.' Milo grinned. 'I do, don't I?' 'You do,' said Sam. 'Different speeds, different sights.' 9

Farther along, Milo spotted a trail of tiny red ants marching up a tree. 'Sam! Look!' he cried. Sam moved his head, very slowly, and smiled. 'Beautiful,' he said. 'They carry little leaf pieces like tiny green umbrellas.' Milo laughed. 'I would have raced right over them.' He sat still and watched the ants for a long, quiet while. 10

Then something rustled in the leaves above. A small bird had tangled its wing in a vine. It chirped and fluttered, quite stuck. 'Oh no!' said Milo. He wanted to dash up, but the vine was tangled tightly. 'Sam,' he said, 'I can go fast, but I need your careful claws.' Sam nodded. 'Then let us work together.' 11

Milo climbed quickly to the branch and held the vine steady with his strong little hands. Sam reached up slowly, slowly, and worked one curved claw under the knot. Twist, tug, twist. 'Almost,' said Sam softly. 'Got it!' The vine came loose, and the little bird fluttered free. 'Thank you!' it sang, and flew off into the green. 12

Milo flopped down beside Sam, breathing hard but happy. 'We did it!' he said. 'You were slow, and I was fast, and it worked!' Sam smiled his sleepy smile. 'Friends can enjoy different speeds,' he said. 'One of us holds still, and one of us hurries. Together we see everything.' Milo nodded. 'Together,' he said, 'is the best speed of all.' 13

From that day on, Milo and Sam explored the rainforest side by side. Some days Milo zoomed ahead and called back what he saw. Some days he slowed down and hung beside Sam, watching raindrops and webs and tiny green frogs. 'Race you to the big tree?' Milo would ask, and Sam would answer, 'I'll meet you there, slowly.' 14

And Milo always waited. He would swing back and sit with his friend, pointing out clouds and butterflies and shiny beetles. Sam showed him the small, quiet wonders, and Milo showed Sam the big, bright ones. 'You are my best friend,' said Milo one evening, as the leaves turned gold. 'Even though you are very, very slow.' 'And you,' said Sam, 'are very, very fast.