The Story of a Monkey on a Stick

In Short

Awakening away from the familiar toy store shelves, a plush monkey mounted on a climbing stick finds himself gifted to a young boy named Herbert. He navigates classroom mishaps involving an ink bottle, a flooded schoolroom, a daring ride on a dog's back, and an afternoon in a meadow with live rabbits and grasshoppers. Eventually returning home, the resilient toy becomes the star attraction of a backyard circus tent, where he heroically defends his friend, the Candy Rabbit, from an intrusive goat before performing triumphant somersaults in the grand show.

The Story

The tale begins when a plush monkey, accustomed to life on a toy store shelf alongside a Candy Rabbit, a Sawdust Doll, and a Calico Clown, unexpectedly wakes up inside a pasteboard box on a family breakfast table. He learns from the Candy Rabbit that he has been purchased as a birthday surprise for a boy named Herbert. Soon, Herbert packs the monkey under his coat and sneaks him into school. Discovered by the teacher, the toy is confiscated and placed inside a desk drawer, where he meets a Cotton Doll who was also taken from a student. Seeking amusement, the mischievous monkey pulls the cork from an ink bottle, accidentally staining the Cotton Doll's face and the end of his own plush tail.

Before long, a burst water pipe floods the schoolroom, prompting an evacuation and leaving the toys behind in the desk. The school janitor eventually discovers them, taking them home to his daughter, who manages to wash the ink from the Doll's porcelain face while the monkey's plush tail remains permanently stained. Returned to Herbert, the monkey is taken outside, where he joins another boy named Dick in tying the toy to the back of a lively dog named Carlo for a thrilling ride across the fields.

During his travels through the green meadow, the monkey parts ways with the dog and meets a friendly Grasshopper, a Cricket, and eventually Jack Hare, a live rabbit who invites him down into an underground burrow. Inside the cave, illuminated by fireflies, the monkey shares stories of the toy store with Mrs. Hare and the young bunnies. Leaving the burrow, he is caught in a heavy rainstorm and takes shelter under a broad fern leaf near Jack in the Pulpit, sleeping soundly until morning.

Reunited with the Grasshopper, the monkey hears the approach of Herbert, Dick, and Carlo, who successfully find him in the tall grass and bring him back home. Back in the yard, Herbert and his friends Madeline, Arnold, Mirabell, and Dorothy set about building a large tent out of sheets and a clothesline to host an ambitious backyard show.

The peaceful preparations are suddenly interrupted when a bad goat wanders into the tent, attracted by the sugar on the Candy Rabbit's ears. Showing remarkable courage, the monkey leaps off his stick, pulls the goat's hair and whiskers, and beats him over the nose with his wooden stick until the intruder flees in retreat. The crisis averted, the children proceed with their grand performance, featuring a battle with tin soldiers and a ride on a woolly Lamb on Wheels. Finally, the monkey takes center stage for the grand finale, executing both front and back somersaults to the enthusiastic applause of the children, sealing his status as the hero of the day.

How It Unfolds

• The surprise awakening The monkey opens his eyes inside a closed pasteboard box sitting on a family breakfast table instead of his usual toy store shelf. He soon happily reunites with the Candy Rabbit and learns from his old companion that a young boy named Herbert has purchased him as a special birthday present.
• Classroom ink trouble Smuggled secretly into school under Herbert's winter coat, the toy is quickly confiscated by the teacher and locked inside a dark desk drawer. While exploring this enclosure, the monkey convinces a captured Cotton Doll to play, leading to an unfortunate accident where he spills ink that permanently stains his own plush tail and darkens the doll's porcelain face.
• The flooded schoolroom A sudden burst water pipe creates a miniature rainstorm inside the classroom, forcing an immediate evacuation of all the students and their teacher. The faculty leaves the toys behind in the locked desk, but the school janitor eventually finds them and takes them home to his daughter, who tries diligently to wash away the stubborn ink marks.
• The dogback ride Returned safely to Herbert, the monkey is taken down the street where he meets Dick, the owner of a White Rocking Horse. The eager boys decide to tie the toy securely to the back of a lively dog named Carlo, treating him to a bumpy, exhilarating ride across the meadow toward a running brook.
• The underground visit Left alone in the grass after the dog ride, the monkey befriends a friendly grasshopper and a live rabbit named Jack Hare. He accepts an invitation to visit the rabbit's subterranean cave, where fireflies provide soft illumination and the monkey entertains the burrow residents with cheerful stories from their shared days in the toy store.
• The backyard circus tent After surviving a heavy rainstorm under a broad fern leaf and reuniting with Herbert in the tall grass, the monkey is brought back to the yard. The children construct a large sheet tent for an amateur circus, where the brave monkey ultimately chases away an intrusive goat with his wooden stick and performs thrilling front and back somersaults to close the show.

The People

The Monkey on a Stick wants nothing more than to understand his sudden awakenings and enjoy playful adventures, but he faces confinement in boxes, school desks, and ink mishaps. He emerges resilient and heroic, proving his bravery by defending his friends.

The Candy Rabbit wants peace and quiet alongside his companions, but risks losing the sugar coating on his ears to hungry mice, cats, and an intrusive goat. He remains placid and fortunate throughout the disruptions, appreciating the monkey's protection.

Herbert wants to keep and enjoy his birthday toy without getting caught, but his youthful disobedience leads to the monkey being confiscated by the teacher and nearly lost in the meadow. Through these trials, he learns responsibility and eventually shares his toy proudly in a backyard show.

The Cotton Doll wants freedom from the school desk and playful companionship, but she is constrained by her environment and winds up with a permanently darkened face after the monkey's ink prank.

Jack Hare wants to show hospitality to travelers, welcoming the monkey into his underground home despite their differences. He remains a generous, secure host in his meadow burrow.

The bad Goat wants to nibble the sweet sugar off the toys, but encounters fierce resistance from the monkey, ending up beaten over the nose and chased out of the tent in defeat.

In Its Own Voice

The monkey expresses his profound confusion upon waking up far away from the shelves where he belongs:

"Well, this is very strange," said the Monkey on a Stick, as he rubbed his nose with one hand, "very strange indeed! Why should I wake up here, when last night I went to sleep in the toy store?"

While trapped in the desk drawer, the monkey suggests a chaotic game to his companion:

"Let's look in the bottle of ink," proposed the Monkey, as he crawled near it, and began pulling at the cork.

Confronted by an unwelcome intruder in the children's circus tent, the brave toy steps forward to protect his friend:

"I will!" cried the brave Monkey on a Stick. "Here! You get out of this tent!" and the monkey stood straight up on his stick and looked with both eyes at the goat.

What It's Really About

This charming juvenile fiction explores the secret inner lives of inanimate objects, blending domestic realism with whimsical fantasy. Beneath the simple episodic plot lies a gentle exploration of loyalty, friendship, and unexpected bravery. The story asks how ordinary, mass-produced children's toys find meaning and purpose through the imaginative play of their owners. By animating playthings that experience real weather, social encounters, and moral tests, the narrative elevates childhood games into grand epics. It gently highlights how small companions can overcome outsized fears and external threats through cooperation, pluck, and quick thinking, turning a quiet backyard into a vibrant theater of heroic action.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love old-fashioned children's literature, gentle animal fantasies, and stories of imaginative play will find immense charm in this early twentieth-century classic. Reading it feels like stepping into a sunlit afternoon of childhood simplicity, where everyday objects come alive with distinct personalities, quirky humor, and boundless curiosity. Modern readers should approach the text with an awareness of its period attitudes, dated phrasing, and the unhurried, episodic pacing characteristic of early juvenile series books. While some vocabulary and minor cultural references reflect the era in which it was written, its core themes of steadfast loyalty and cheerful pluck remain wonderfully timeless. What stays with you long after finishing the book is the endearing image of a plush monkey standing bravely on his wooden stick, ready to face any goat, rainstorm, or classroom adventure to protect his friends.