8 Monkeys!

8. MONKEYS! For a while, nothing happened. Then the smell of squished banana began to attract swarms of flies and bees. Jim quite liked bees, but not when they were crawling all over his banana-covered feet. Jim's dad was chomping on the last of the un-squished bananas when Matilda spotted a monkey peeking up at her from behind a palm leaf. Then Jim pointed out two more

scurrying around on the forest floor, chattering excitedly. "And there's another!" cried Matilda as a monkey, hanging by its tail, untied one of the vines that held the net aloft. The next moment, the net lurched sideways as the vine fell free. More monkeys then clambered onto the net above them, deftly unpicking the knots. "I think they're trying to help us!" said Jim. Matilda watched the monkeys, her eyes following the length of the vines they were untying. The vines rose upward into the branches and then fell down to

the forest floor, where hordes more monkeys were now running around, whooping and hollering. Some of them seemed to be carrying spears. She spotted another monkey behind a tree, with a tricorn hat on its head. It might have been carrying a funny-shaped stick, but the stick looked a lot like a musket. "Um... I think they're trying to release us, Jim. But I'm not sure they're trying to 'help' us."

"Maybe they've got more bananas!" said Jim's dad. The net shifted again. Matilda gasped. "It's a long way down. I really hope the ground's soft." The net swung sideways suddenly and a monkey flew past them, dangling from a vine. More vines whooshed by, and all the monkeys below them disappeared into the undergrowth. "At least we'll get away from these bees," said Jim. The next moment, the branch directly above them let out an almighty creak and the net dropped.

THUMP! They all landed in a heap, still entangled in the remnants of the net. Bones was sitting on Matilda. Matilda was lying on Jim. Jim was lying on his dad. "It's at times like this I'm glad you have such a big tummy," Jim said to his dad, who was flat out on his back. Mr. Jolley- Rogers groaned a little as his arms flopped out to his sides. Bones growled.

The monkeys were back, murmuring and pointing as they surrounded their captives. Some of the monkeys had spears, and the largest monkey wielded a rusty