The Monkey loves the Little Yellow Flower

  The Monkey loves the Little Yellow Flower

              A story by Leechard

The monkey was crying on the tree. He was very sad. He was an old monkey. He had just said goodbye to a friend. His friend had died. He thought that it wouldn't be long before he would die too. He was very sad, and his tears fell like raindrops.

Suddenly, he heard a voice calling from below: "Hey, don’t cry. Your tears are like a bath for me." It turned out that below was a little yellow flower. His tears were like a pearl in the flower's heart. The monkey came down and carefully examined the little yellow flower. He had never seen a flower before. His eyes had only ever seen fruits. He was only interested in edible fruits. But at that moment, it was as if he suddenly had been given new eyes. He discovered that the little yellow flower was truly beautiful. Sunlight shone on the pearl, and the pearl rested on the flower's heart.

He said in a mood, "You are really beautiful. Can I take you home?"

The little yellow flower replied, "As you wish."

The monkey wore the flower by his ear. They spent two happy days together.

On the third day, the monkey noticed that the little yellow flower had changed. The vibrant yellow was gone, and the petals had turned grayish-white.

The monkey said, "What's wrong? Are you going to die too?"

The little yellow flower replied, "Yes."

The monkey felt like crying again.

The little yellow flower said, "We never cry."

The monkey asked, "Why?"

The little yellow flower explained, "I don’t have time to cry. I only have three days to live."

The monkey said, "I want to be with you forever."

The little yellow flower replied, "Yes."

The monkey said, "I want to keep you pinned to my ear."

The little yellow flower said, "I will come back. I will be reborn soon. When that time comes, you can find me."

After saying this, the little yellow flower fell silent. The air felt as if it had died.

The monkey stood there for a long time, unable to breathe, feeling very sad.

He carefully tucked the dead flower behind his ear and wandered aimlessly through the forest, not knowing where to go. He climbed a very tall tree, hoping to see if there were any more little yellow flowers.

In the distance, he thought he saw a patch of light yellow. The monkey hurried over. Sure enough, it was a large field of various flowers. The monkey carefully examined each one. But he was very disappointed; he could tell immediately that they were not the same. It was a vast expanse of blooming flowers, but they felt strangely unfamiliar. He looked at each one but could not find the original little yellow flower.

 Even worse, when he reached up to touch his ear, he found that the withered flower was gone, lost at some unknown time. The monkey was horrified and rushed back to look for the body of the flower. He searched the entire forest but could not find it.

However, he remembered the little yellow flower’s word and did not cry.

He walked through forest after forest. He climbed mountain after mountain.

Time passed year after year, and he did not notice that he was growing old, his hair turning gray. But he still hope to find the little yellow flower.

One day, feeling tired, he sat down in the shade next to a large rock. Suddenly, he realized that the air seemed a bit different. Out of nowhere, the little yellow flower appeared before him.

He found his throat was hardened and  could no longer hold back his tears.

The little yellow flower said, "Why are you coming so late?"

The monkey, holding back tears, replied, "I’ve been searching for you many years."

The little yellow flower said, "I waited for you two days, but you didn’t come. I’m leaving again tomorrow."

The monkey asked, "Leaving? Where are you going?"

The little yellow flower answered, "I will be going reborn tomorrow. You see, my color is fading."

In an instant, the monkey was completely stunned, unable to say a word.

He wanted to speak but could only tremble his lips and let out a faint moan.

The little yellow flower said, "Don't worry, there are many yellow flowers in the forest. They will welcome you."

But the  monkey did not know how to respond. Over the years, he had seen countless flowers, but none were his little yellow flower. He only wanted to find that one.

He felt that only this little yellow flower was in his mind.

The little yellow flower seemed to completely understand his feelings: "Do you know what you’re looking for?"

The monkey said, "I do."

The little yellow flower asked, "What are you looking for?"

Suddenly, an abstract word surged in the  monkey's heart. But he couldn't say it; he had never learned that word.

He could only say, "I want to see the pearl in your heart."

The little yellow flower had a few more things to say but hesitated.

The little yellow flower said, "I will wait for you. Will you come back?"

The monkey said, "Sure".

The two of them sat in silence, no longer needing to say anything more......

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The story of the monkey and the little yellow flower seemed to have come to an end. But in fact, it was far from over. He would continue to climb one mountain after another, searching.

When people saw his limping figure, they knew that kind of  unknown would always lead him forward.

Later, the monkey wrote a song to commemorate the little yellow flower. At a full moon night, he would sing that song.

When people heard the monkey howling, they would say, "Ah, it’s the full moon again."

But they would never know whether that lonely wild monkey was crying or laughing.

This kind of howling from a solitary monkey has been heard and put into poems by Li Bai and Bai Juyi,  they are the best of the best Chinese poets.

Perhaps they all shared the same feeling.

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