A Walk in the Jiggy Jiggy Jungle by Connor A.

Mongo was on his daily walk through the jungle. Every day he left around mid afternoon and would be gone for hours, enjoying the beautiful sounds of the rainforest and everything else it had to offer. Mongo was from a small village in the heart of the South American rainforest. His village had been there for countless centuries and their way of life seemed perfect. Nobody ever fought with one another and everything belonged to the community as a whole. If you needed something all you had to do was ask.

Mongo did not need much though. He was old now and was just enjoying what was left of life. He never had a wife or children and he would often get lonely and it was times like those when he loved being in the jungle the most. On his walks Mongo would encounter all sorts of animals and plants that would mesmerize him and keep him staring in awe. Even the dangerous animals like jaguars and such didn’t seem to mind Mongo. He had a safe, easy going personality and never meant any harm.

One day Mongo had gone very far from his village and came to a giant river called the Amazon. He had heard stories of the crazy dragon creatures that lurked in the foggy water so he kept his distance from the river bank. He continued walking along the shore when he came to a little sandy beach cut in the side of the river. There, lying in the sand was a massive crocodile, bigger than anything Mongo could have imagined. Its head alone was as long as half of Mongo’s body. Mongo stood still and watched what the croc would do next. It looked old, very old, like Mongo. And suddenly it didn’t look so scary. Mongo crept along the beach behind the croc being careful not to step on its tail. When he reached the other side of the 15 foot mammoth he saw a very deep gash on the side of the crocodile’s neck. Mongo felt very bad and pulled out his hunting knife and some string he had. He then went back into the jungle and looked for the Cahya Caia thorns to use as a needle. He rushed back to the injured croc as fast as he could and knelt down next to it. Mongo was terrified but he knew he must help the creature. He quietly whispered to it, “Don’t be afraid, I will not hurt you.”

Mongo threaded the thorn and began to stitch the wound. For some reason the crocodile did not move. Not even open and eye. It just lay there breathing heavily as Mongo worked. When Mongo was done he cut the thread and stepped back from the crocodile. He then sat there for a while observing his patient. Finally after an hour, when Mongo was about to fall asleep the crocodile lifted itself up and crawled in the black water.

Mongo thought a lot about his strange encounter the day before. He was curious to see how the injured crocodile was doing so the next day he went back to the small beach on the river. When he got there the giant croc was no where to be found. This upset Mongo very much. He stayed for an hour scanning the water, looking for any sign of the huge reptile but he saw nothing. While Mongo was walking back home through the jungle he heard a thundering bang ring out through the wilderness. He dropped to the ground in fear and quickly crawled behind a big bush. He looked around trying to find the source of the disturbance. He then heard loud shouts and men yelling off to his right. He quickly scampered from one hiding place to another getting as close as he could to the ruckus. When the commotion came into view he was heartbroken. He saw the crocodile he had saved the previous day, shot dead on the ground with the hunters around him congratulating each other. There were 3 men and Mongo could tell they were from some other strange place beside the jungle. Mongo became furious and without even thinking he ran out with his hunting knife and stabbed the man closest to him. The other men were completely shocked by what had just happened and ran to get their guns but Mongo’s knife was already flying through the air towards to second man. It hit him in the stomach sending him to the ground in pain. Just as Mongo looked at the last man he took a thundering blow to the chest as a bullet slammed into him. He collapsed down next to the dead crocodile.

Mongo lay on the mossy covering of the jungle. He thought about the long life he had lived and all the good things he had in his life. And suddenly he was not angry, or scared or sad or anything. He accepted his fate and knew that he went down fighting. He looked up into the trees, his face going blank, and said, “Thank you Jiggy Jiggy Jungle.”