Chang, as I mentioned before, was a gift from my friends B. and C. His role is to travel around the world and be photographed in various exotic locales (a la Flat Stanley, the Flatmistress, and other similarly fun companions).
Here he is in Cambodia:
He's a cute little patchwork elephant that can strike many different poses and is rather photogenic. We toted him with us all over Bali, and had a blast taking pictures of him in front of a gigantic volcano, balancing on the stone head of a mythical creature, and sitting on our shoulders as we stood in front of pastel sunsets.
On our last day in Bali we wandered over to the Sacred Monkey Forest--a stunning forest filled with Indiana Jones-esque temples and over 300 macaque monkeys (macaque monkeys, by the way, are the most prosperous and "successful" genus of monkey....and boy, are those things feisty!!). Before we arrived at the actual entrance of the forest, we noticed that several monkeys were causing trouble in some of the storefronts near the forest. It was a very interesting experience seeing these monkeys hanging out on the sidewalk, and while I didn't want to set Chang down on the pavement and risk a possible elephant-napping by an overly mischievous primate, I DID want to get a picture of Chang with one particularly chubby monkey who was just chillin' right there on the sidewalk as people walked past.
Peter bravely volunteered to hold Chang NEAR the monkey so that at least the two of them would be in the shot together. I got my camera all ready and zoomed in nice and close. And then, as if in slow motion, I watched in horror as the monkey reached out and swiped my patchwork elephant from Peter's hand. Peter, being the heroic boyfriend that he is, attempted twice to retrieve poor Chang from the monkey's evil clutches, which the monkey did not appreciate in the least. He reacted by hissing, baring his (suprisingly long and sharp) fangs, and chasing after my sweet, beloved Peter while I attempted to scoop my gaping jaw from off of the sidewalk. The monkey, being rather chubby, gave up the chase after a few steps and hopped, King Kong style, (and I swear I could hear Chang screaming Fay Wray style) up a pole where he would proceed to perch on a roof and....I can barely type it....begin devouring my sweet little elephant.
Chang, in a weak attempt at self-defense, found a way to poke the monkey right in the palm with the pin that was attached to his back (as Chang was intended to be worn as a lapel pin...which, as much as I love and adore Chang, I think would be a hideous accessory in what I would imagine to be an even more hideous outfit...). The monkey began licking his palm and rubbing it on the ledge, at which point I decided to plead with the monkey, arms outstretched and fingers waving wildly, to throw down my elephant. The monkey, clearly aware of my pain and suffering, began mocking me by dangling poor Chang by the (now extremely bent and therefore defunct as a form of self-defense) pin for a few moments before putting Chang head first into his mouth and scampering off to another roof.
I was completely distraught. My Chang! My loyal travel companion! I allowed him to be EATEN BY A MONKEY!! I was catatonic for a few moments and remained glued--mouth wide open--to the spot where I had watched the carnage. A little while later a small monkey sat on the perch where the murdering bastard monkey had been. I watched him as he chewed on something, made a displeased face, and threw whatever he was eating to the ground. It was a Chang appendage, and it spilled fluffy white Chang insides all over the sidewalk.
Peter eventually had to put both hands on my shoulders and tell me to let it go...Chang was gone. Poor Chang. Peter also gently told me that we would never hold our future infant near a monkey in order to have a most excellent photo op. Duly noted.
In my state of shock I DID end up snapping some photos of Chang's final moments (Peter, unbeknownst to me, took a VIDEO of it!). Perhaps I will post the, er, less graphic ones once I get my Bali pictures uploaded.
R.I.P., little guy!!
2 comments:
Poor Chang!! I am sorry hun, but you know that I am snickering a little. That would only happen to you!
Poor Chang! I can't believe he is gone and so young! And by a monkey no less... clearly Chang should have only traveled with Alouise because he would have protected him against his kind! Sorry that happened!
Post a Comment