It was supposed to be a quiet afternoon at the little jungle home. Mama Monkey had just finished sweeping the porch when she realized Cubis was nowhere to be seen. She called his name once, twice—no answer. That was never a good sign.
Sure enough, faint giggles drifted from the far side of the clearing. Mama followed the sound and froze when she spotted him—Cubis was knee-deep in a patch of sticky brown mud, splashing with both hands like it was the best day of his life.
“Cubis!” Mama called, trying to sound stern. “What are you doing out there?”
But Cubis just laughed, scooped up a handful of mud, and smeared it across his arms like it was jungle war paint. His tiny tail wagged happily as he stomped around, sending globs of mud flying in every direction.
Soon, his little monkey friends joined in, and the scene turned into a full-on mud festival. They slid across the slick ground, made messy shapes, and even built a “mud castle” complete with banana leaves for flags. Cubis was the proud “king,” standing tall—well, as tall as a small muddy monkey can—on his slippery throne.
By the time Mama reached him, there was no part of Cubis that wasn’t covered in thick, dark mud. She put her hands on her hips, trying not to laugh. “Just look at you! How am I supposed to get all this off?”
Cubis grinned sheepishly, holding out a banana he had found somewhere in the chaos. “For you, Mama… sorry?”
With a sigh, Mama scooped him up and carried him straight to the river. It took a lot of splashing and scrubbing, but eventually, a clean (and still giggling) Cubis emerged.
That night, as he curled up in bed, Cubis whispered to himself, “Best. Day. Ever.” Mama just shook her head with a smile. Naughty or not, her little monkey sure knew how to have fun.
