Reginald, Prince of Baboons
a quite unusual tale from
The Lost Forest
by Rachael Long
Copyright 2012 Rachael Long
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The Quite Unusual Tale of
Reginald, Prince of Baboons
Contents
In which, on a Wednesday or a Tuesday,
Reginald, Prince of Baboons sets off
for the moon...in a hot air balloon.
The bit that arrives before the middle bit
Involving a crash landing, a camel
and a walk in the desert.
Being the part sometime before
Reginald and his companion are
rescued from being eaten by a vulture
and returned to the Lost Forest
While the tree monkeys look on,
Reginald has a discussion
about a myth
Reginald, Prince of Baboons
Some time ago, perhaps many, many years...although some say it was really only past the weekend that has just ended. So, probably last week maybe around lunchtime on Wednesday or even Tuesday; across the African Savannah, over, around or through the Lost Forest and straight up a high rocky outcrop, Reginald, Prince of Baboons was sitting in the dining room of his hilltop palace. Lunch had just been served, although Reginald couldn't remember having had breakfast. Perhaps, he mused to himself, breakfast had been a light affair. Studying his lunch, this too looked to be a light affair also - grilled bananas on crispy or was it burnt banana bread, he wasn't really sure...Suddenly a speeding swallow sped in through an open window and hit, beak first, Reginald’s' breakfast table so fast so hard, it went TWANG! Much like the sound a ruler makes when held half off a desk and plucked. Reginald, Prince of Baboons was stunned as indeed was the swallow...
However, before he could utter a word or even a grunt of surprise, five more swallows flew in and landed around the first one. They quickly set about freeing its beak from the table. The freed swallow shook its head and said, “tell me, tell me. What was my velocity? How fast do you think I hit the table?” One of the other swallows pulled out a notebook and began scribbling. After a moment it showed its workings-out to the first swallow. “Gosh. That is fast! But is that African or European?” asked the first. “Oh, African, naturally,” came the reply. Feeling very pleased the group cheered and flew off back out the window.
Reginald, Prince of Baboons stared at the table and then at the window, confused...he picked up a small bell and gave it a shake to summon his butler. Almost immediately a hippo came charging into the room, grinned wildly, shouted BUNGEE! and jumped through the window at the end of the room. Reginald sprang to his feet and ran to the window. He was just in time to see the hippo hit the ground some 60 or 70 feet below. A large cloud of dust rose into the air and moments later he watched the hippo stagger and limp away. “Next time,” shouted Reginald, leaning out the window, “you need to tie on a bungee rope!” He turned away from the window to see two white-coated rats enter the room, deep in conversation.
Reginald gave a little cough, “I don't suppose by any chance that hippo was anything to do with you two lab rats?” The rats stopped talking and looked at Reginald, Prince of Baboons or RPB as they called him. One, Eva, took her glasses off and cleaned them. The other, Adele, smiled and stroked her baldhead. “Yes, an experiment in hypnosis,” she twitched and felt in her pocket for a pill. Eva added, “She, the Hippo, had a fear of heights”...
“But hippos spend most of their time in water. They don't need to climb or be afraid of heights,” said RPB. The lab rats smiled, “Yes but with global warming the sea level will rise. Hippos will have to get used to being higher up,” smiled Eva chewing her pill and still twitching.
RPB scratched his head. He wasn't quite sure why he had let the lab rats set up a laboratory in his palace. Although they had agreed with him, that it was in theory possible to fly to the moon...Setting foot on the moon was RPB's one and only real ambition. He' d failed and crashed into the Lost Forest on his first attempt but the lab rats insisted, yes, in theory it really was possible. However, it may take time to find the right theory...Reginald was now going to try and fly to the moon using a hot air balloon. At that moment a rhino wearing a bow tie and waistcoat entered the room. “You rang, your Highness?”