. . . whose name was Daelyn. Every afternoon, Daelyn's mommy would call to him through the trees, 'Daelyn, it's time for your nap. Come home, please.' Daelyn didn't like taking naps and thought he was old enough to not have to take naps everyday.
One day, after lunch was over and Daelyn knew Mommy would be calling to him soon to take his nap, he made up his mind to go as far away as he could so he wouldn't hear Mommy when she called. He thought this was a wonderful idea and flew from treelimb to treelimb, first this way, then that, until he was quite certain he was far enough away that he would never hear Mommy's voice.
'What a smart monkey I am,' Daelyn thought. 'Now I can play all afternoon and when Mommy says that I didn't come when she called me, I can tell her that I didn't hear her, and it will be the truth.' Daelyn played all afternoon, practicing flips and twirls through the treetops, first catching himself with his tail, then practicing with his front left leg, then his right back leg. Finally, Daelyn noticed that the sky was beginning to darken.
'It's almost nightime,' he said outloud, although there was no one around to hear. 'I guess I better go home now.' As Daelyn looked through the trees for the way home, he realized that he had no idea how to get there. He had taken so many different turns that he couldn't tell which direction was home.
'That's okay,' he told himself silently. 'I'm old enough to be on my own. I'll just find a comfortable place to sleep and prove to Mommy that I can take care of myself.'
He finally settled down onto a leaf-covered branch, but it wasn't nearly as soft as his bed at home. As the sky around him grew darker, he began to notice strange noises in the night.
'I'm sure those are the same noises I hear at home,' he told himself, 'they just sound louder without Mommy and Daddy to protect me.' As the night grew darker, the noises got louder. Then Daelyn heard a different noise, coming from him, and realized that he hadn't eaten any dinner. His stomach was growling. He was very hungry. But it was too dark now to find food and nobody had called him to dinner. And, at home, Mommy always gathered the food for him so he could play longer. He began to miss having food whenever he wanted it.
As the growling in his stomach got louder, he noticed another sound coming from the trees around him and realized that he wasn't safe. At home, Mommy and Daddy always slept around him and his brother and sister so they could protect the children from any danger. But here, Daelyn was alone. There was nobody to protect him.
The more Daelyn thought about Mommy and Daddy, the lonelier he got. He missed his brother and sister. It had been fun to play all day by himself, but he didn't want to do it again the next day, and the next, and the one after that. He wanted his brother and sister. He missed his friends.
All this became too much for Daelyn and he began to cry softly. He wanted his warm, soft bed. He wanted his brother and sister. He wanted his dinner and Mommy and Daddy sleeping near him to protect him. Leaving home had been a very big mistake. Daelyn began to feel even worse, and his crying got louder and louder.
Then Daelyn noticed a new sound. He wasn't sure what the sound was, but he listened carefully, quieting his own crying so he could hear better. Even though the sound was far off, he thought it was a little familiar. Slowly, the sound got louder and louder until he finally realized that the sound was the voice of his Daddy.
'Daelyn, where are you, son,' Daddy called in his deep voice.
'I'm here, Daddy, right here!' Daelyn yelled, then continued to call until Daddy found him in his bed in the tree. Daddy scooped him up, gave him a quick hug, then told Daelyn that they were in danger there and they were going home. Daelyn was very happy Daddy had come for him.
When Daddy and Daelyn got home, Mommy was waiting. She wrapped Daelyn in her warm, furry body, gave him 3 bananas for dinner, then hurried him off to bed.
'It's very late, son. And you've been a very naughty monkey. You need to go to sleep now and we'll talk about this in the morning.'
The next morning, Daelyn explained his whole story to Mama. After Mommy and Daddy explained how much danger Daelyn had put himself in, they decided to not punish him. They said he had been punished enough by the choices he had made.
Daelyn was happy to be home, even if Mommy and Daddy were still a little angry. And he now knew that he wasn't too old for a nap, or the safety of his home. He was glad he had a Mommy and Daddy who loved him and wanted to protect him. Daelyn never ran away again and, for the rest of his life, he told other monkeys his story and tried to help them understand how much their mommies and daddies loved them. The End."
Brief silence. "Can you tell me another story now, Mama?" Daelyn asks.
"No, son. It's nap time. Go to sleep."
As Daelyn's eyes grow heavy and his breathing becomes more regular, I lean over, kiss him, and whisper in his ear, "You'll be grown one day, little monkey. For today, enjoy this nap and the comfort of your bed. I love you."
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