A boy named Jay Berry was a fourteen year old. One day they got a letter from Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa traded with a Cherokee Indian that had sixty acres of land and they could have it if they wanted it. So they headed for town and lived on the land in Oklahoma. He had a sister named Daisy who was born with a twisted leg. They had the woods next to their house. They had a cow named Sally Gooden and one morning it got away. Jay Berry went out looking for Sally Gooden with his dog Rowdy and found her next to the slough that emptied into the river. Jay walked around a little more and Rowdy found something up a tree and he was barking for a long time. Jay finally came over and looked up the tree and found a monkey. Then Jay went back and told his mom and dad. Papa didn’t believe him.

Jay Berry found these monkey’s in the woods. His mom told him to go to the store and he did. He went to his grandpa’s store and told him about the monkeys in the woods. His grandpa told Jay that those monkeys came from a circus train. He said there was an award if you could find the monkeys. You would get $2 for them you could find one. There was one special monkey that acted like a human. If you were able to find that monkey and bring it back to them it was worth $100. Jay Berry was really wanting a pony and a 22. His grandpa and Jay were talking how they could ketch the monkeys. They bought the traps and made them soft so when you it caught you it wouldn’t hurt. They made five traps. While Jay was heading back Grandpa gave him some candy for his sister and him. They were going to use apples as their bate.

• While Jay was heading back with Rowdy he was singing all the way back to his house. When Jay got back he went to Daisy’s playhouse. Daisy was sitting by a red oak with her friends around. Daisy already new about the monkeys and she didn’t like killing animals. Daisy was very good at telling stories. She started telling Jay about the Old Mountain Man. The Old Mountain Man takes care of hills and h. e looks out for everything. He is very old and his hair is really white and hangs down over his shoulders. He has a stick in his hands and he can point it at something and it disappears. The Old Mountain Man can come to you whenever he wants. In the winter he sleeps and in the summer he stays up and takes care of everything. Jay asked Daisy when he could see him. Daisy said he might not see you because he doesn't like it when you kill little animals.

• One night Jay Berry couldn’t sleep very good so the next morning he was the first one to wake up. He was ready to catch those monkeys when he got up. He went down to set the traps up with Rowdy. There was the monkey that acted like a human sitting up in a tree watching everything he did. When Jay got done setting up the traps he went to hide and see if they would come. The little monkeys were curious and wanted the apples in the traps. The monkey that acted like a human went in front of them to see if it was safe. He was thinking how to get the apples and he did and grabbed every one of the apples and gave it to the little one and he ate some to. That made Jay pretty mad. Rowdy was sniffing around. Jay saw a hollow log and he wanted to put his apples inside and put his traps in front of the log. Jay and Rowdy were really thirsty and wanted a drink so they went and got a drink from the spring. When they came back to check on their traps the monkeys had stole everything they had brought with them.

• Jay Berry went to Grandpa’s store to get a new plan for catching the

moneys. When Jay got to Grandpa’s store he was sitting on the steps. Jay explained everything to Grandpa. Grandpa went to off toward the barn to get a trap. Jay was wondering what the thing was when Grandpa was walking back towards him. It had was a long pole with a net on the end and they called it the monkey-catching net. There was two stings attached to one blue and the other yellow. The yellow string was to the open the net. The blue was for the net to close. He was telling Jay that a guy from college was named Tahlequah and loved to catch butterflies. He would spend hours catching butterflies and pin them. Every time Tahlequah caught a butterfly he would run waving the net making all kinds of noise.

• Jay went to Grandma’s house. Grandma thought Jay Berry was really skinny. She was good at being a doctor and she had really good eyes. Grandma offered Jay a piece of huckleberry pie. Before Jay started heading back Grandma gave Jay a few loaves of bread she had made to give to Mama. When Jay got back to the house he decided to try out his new trap from his Grandpa. They had goose named Gander and was really sneaky and stubborn. He wanted to try his new trap on Gander. He caught the goose but he got tangled up in the nets. Mama and Daisy were not happy about Gander. Daisy called him Gandy. That night Papa and Jay Berry and Rowdy went down to the bottoms to dig the hole for the trap for the next day. They chopped some brush and put it over the trap and some dirt. To make sure the trap was big enough Jay and Rowdy got in there.

The morning when Jay went to catch the monkeys early in the morning Mama got up early and made him breakfast. Then he got all of his things and went down to the bottoms. Jay and Rowdy got in their hole and waited. They felt a snake go over them. There was a hornet that was buzzing around to. The monkeys came around to check it out. He got two monkeys in his traps. When Jay and Rowdy got out the big monkey let out a squall and there were monkeys surrounding them. The little monkeys were all over them biting them everywhere and fighting. While the little monkeys were fighting Jay and Rowdy the big monkey got the other two monkeys out of the trap. After the big monkey told the little monkeys to stop he started jumping up and down and laughing.

• Daisy saw Jay and Rowdy and called Mama. Daisy and Mama put medicine on Jay and Rowdy to help heal their cuts. Jay and Rowdy were so stiff and sore the next morning. Jay wasn’t feeling so good so Mama felt Jay’s head and said he had a fever. Daisy was going to practice the Red Cross nursing on him. Daisy had read the read the Red Cross nursing business to Jay before. Rowdy stayed under the deck while Jay was inside in his bed. Daisy was a pretty good nurse so she took care of them. Daisy decided to bring Rowdy in with Jay. Daisy gave Jay a glass of water every five minutes and Jay couldn’t drink any more water. Daisy thought Jay was going mad because he stopped drinking the water because Daisy looked up the word hydrophobia in the dictionary and said anything going mad refuses to drink water. For one day Rowdy put up with Daisy’s nursing then he hopped out of the window and went back under the house. When Jay was better he went to see Grandpa.

• Jay Berry and Rowdy went down to the bottoms. Jay started calling to the monkey named Jimbo. When Jay and Rowdy were walking down the trail they smelt something and it kept getting stronger the closer they got. They were smelling the odor of fermenting sour mash. The moon shiners set up a whiskey still that the Gravely boys set up. When they got down their Jimbo was right in front of them. Rowdy stayed a little ways back behind Jay. Jimbo had a can and trying to give to Jay Berry and Jay wouldn’t drink it. Jimbo got really mad. Finally Jay had to drink it and it tasted bad at first then it wasn’t so bad. When Jay had finished the can Jimbo would refill immediately. Rowdy came over after a little while and Jimbo gave Rowdy some sour mash. Jimbo refilled Rowdy’s can to. After a few cans they just fell asleep. When the were sleeping Jimbo took Jay’s britches off. When Jay woke up he was wondering where his pants were. Jay and Rowdy were very dizzy and they were going back to the house. They couldn’t walk in a strait line. When they got back to the house his Mama and Papa and Daisy were very surprised wondered what happened to his britches.

The next morning when Jay woke up he had to think a minute because he forgot what happened the night before. Jay told everything that happened the night before to his Mama and Papa. Mama and Papa headed to the store. Daisy got her Red Cross nursing outfit on. She took care of Jay and Rowdy. Jay went under the covers and Daisy pulled him by his hair get him out of the covers. Jay’s tongue was covered in a coating. Daisy got out the caster oil which Jay didn’t like at all. Daisy new that. Daisy started pouring the caster oil into the cup. Jay went and through up and he was feeling a lot better. Daisy went out and checked on Rowdy and he growled and showed his teeth every time Daisy came close to him. Pretty soon Daisy gave him some warm milk and gave him a cold bath. Jay and Rowdy went up to Grandpa’s store and found that Grandpa wasn’t in his store he was putting a new spoke on one of his buckboard wheels. Grandpa said that he would take Jay and Rowdy to town the next morning and go to the library to find out how to catch those monkeys.

• The next morning Grandpa stopped by and Jay wasn’t up yet. Grandpa was had some coffee with papa. After breakfast Grandpa was ready to go so Jay and Rowdy went. When they were going to town they saw a lot of animals. One was a mama raccoon with her babies and Rowdy went after it and got scratched. When they got to the town Tahlequah it was pretty nice. Grandpa got a hotel for them and the next morning Grandpa was already out at the barn. When Jay came downstairs the cook Big Gen fixed Jay some hot chocolate. Big Gen gave Jay a huge breakfast. When Jay came out it ten o’ clock. Grandpa said we better start heading to the library. The library they went to was called Carnegie Library. They didn’t tie Rowdy up when they got in the library. When Grandpa and Jay got into the library it was very quiet you could anything that was going on. There was little old gray-haired lady wearing glasses with a pencil in her hand. Grandpa asked if she could find a book on catching monkeys. It took a while before she found the book. It was perfect book and found what they needed. Rowdy got inpatient standing outside so he came in front of the doorway and the lady saw him and was not mad at all. Jay had to tie Rowdy up. When they were done with the library they started heading home.

Grandpa and Jay Berry stopped into town to go to the store. They went their to get the coconuts for bait to catch the monkeys. In the store their was a pretty girl. She was Jay Berry’s age. While Grandpa went to get the coconuts Jay went to get some things for his family. Jay got some ribbon for Daisy and a shaving mug for Papa. After they got their things they needed they went out to the buckboard. It was a rough road so Jay had to hold onto the shaving mug. When they were a hundred yards away Jay realized he was thirsty. They stopped by a spring that Jay found and tied the halter rope of the mares to a gum tree. Grandpa and Jay went down to the spring. After a little while Grandpa heard his mares snorting and stomping their hooves. When they came up from the spring their coconuts were gone. They found out that the monkeys took all of their coconuts because they left Jay’s britches.

• One night their was a storm that blew in and it was lightning. Daisy got scared and came in Jay’s room. Daisy told a story to Jay Berry about a thunder a god. The name of the thunder god was Thor. Thor lives up in the heavens and if he gets mad he gets into the chariot and takes a beg hammer with him. It the hammer hits anything it turns into a bolt of lightning. When Thor throws the hammer it comes right back to him. Finally the storm ended and it was very wet outside. Jay Berry was worried that the monkeys got drowned. Jay asked his Mama if he could go down to the bottoms and see how they were doing. Papa’s corn stocks weren’t going to have to be watered for a while because it rained so much.

• Daisy and Rowdy went up a trail to her playhouse. Daisy started yelling as loud as she could to Mama and Papa. When Mama and Papa and Jay got to where she was they thought it was a snake. It wasn’t a snake it was a fairy ring. A fairy ring was very rare. There was a very old legend on the fairy ring. Mama knew a story on the fairy ring. When Mama and Papa moved to Missouri there was place called Hanging Rock Bluff. There lived a family by the name of Garland. Luann and Johnnie George and the couple were going to get married. They had already planned it. About a month away from the wedding Johnnie got called away to go to war. He sent one letter and Luann never heard from him again. The Old Man George came to their house and said Johnnie was missing. Luann didn’t talk to anyone from that day on. One day she was walking up the hills and she found a fairy ring. She stepped in the circle and made a wish and it came true. Johnnie came home and she was very happy. Mama, Papa, Daisy, and Jay each made a wish.

• When Jay Berry and Rowdy went down to the bottoms to check on the monkeys he found them in a hole all huddled together. They were very wet and cold when he found them. The monkeys let Jay touch them and they didn’t bite him. He led them to the sun so they could dry out. Jimbo let Jay hold him. When finished drying out they went back to the house. When they got to the house Daisy was really surprised that Jay came back with a bunch of monkeys and she started calling for Mama. Mama was also really scared. Jay, Rowdy, and the monkeys all came into the house. Daisy held Jimbo and that made Mama calm down. The monkeys stayed in the corncrib. Daisy went to get them some apples, Papa got them some straw, and Mama warmed them some milk.

• When Jay went to Grandpa’s store he was so excited he never stopped and walked. When Jay and Rowdy got to Grandpa’s store the mailman was there. He shouted to Grandpa and said he caught all the monkeys. The mailman was going to send a telegram rather than Grandpa having to type a letter and send it. Grandpa just told the mailman what to say in the telegram. Grandpa said that the circus would arrive in about two or three day. Grandpa told Jay that he could take however much candy he wanted and he took some home to Daisy. Grandpa saved a ham bone for Rowdy and Rowdy was very happy. Jay’s been wanting a pony and a gun for a long time. Grandpa was going to go up to Indian Tom’s and get two ponies to bring back for Jay Berry to see the next day. Jay could pick which pony to pick. Mama would always read the Bible three night of the week even if they were busy that day. That night Jay had a terrible night because he kept dreaming about all sorts of things good and bad dreams. The next day Jay was ready for picking out his horse. The next morning the circus train came called the “Johnson Brothers Circus.” When they went out to the corn crib Jimbo was very excited and jumped into Ben Johnson’s arms.

• Jay gave Daisy six-dollars of his one-hundred fifty-six dollars. Jay went to Grandpa’s store and held onto his money the whole way. He was so excited see the ponies. The roan gelding was $100 and the paint mare was $75. There was a road gelding and a paint mare. He’s always been wishing for a paint. When he walked up to the ponies the roan ran around and the paint just stood their. When he saw that the paint gelding a bad wound on its leg he asked Grandpa why did he get a crippled horse. Grandpa felt sorry for it. Rowdy went by the paint and it liked it and came by Jay to. Grandpa said it would takes a few weeks to get the wound heeled and back to normal. Grandpa asked are you sure that’s the one you want? Jay kept saying yes. Grandpa told Jay where the halter’s were and Jay got the halter on the paint and started to take the paint home. When Jay was about 50 yards from the house he realized what Grandpa was trying to tell him and said he couldn’t take the horse. He brought the horse back to the store. Grandma gave him a sack full of money to take back to Mama. Grandma said she could be by in the morning to take Mama and Daisy. They were going to get Daisy’s crippled leg fixed. They were going to be gone for a few weeks.

• Papa and Jay thought it would be kind of fun for them to stay at home by themselves. Papa would work in the fields and Jay would cook and have the meals ready. Jay thought cooking would be easy since he saw Mama cook so many times. The first time Jay cooked while Mama was gone he cooked beans and potatoes. While the beans and potatoes were cooking Jay decided that he would make some flour gravy. While he was doing that the beans started boil over and the potatoes started to burn and smoke filled the house. He tried to pour the gravy out but plopped out like a pancake. He told Papa and they just had leftover cornbread that Mama had made, sweet milk, honey, and butter. As days went by it became very lonesome without Mama and Daisy. They got a letter saying Daisy’s leg got operated on and it was successful and the doctors put a cast on Daisy’s leg. After a few weeks it became very boring. The fourth week they got a letter from Mama she said the doctors had taken the cast off. They were training her to walk. That letter cheering them up for a few days. Jay Berry asked the Old Man of the Mountains for Mama and Daisy to come home. Soon Rowdy could hear something up the road. It was Grandpa with a letter and he gave it to them. It said that Mama and Daisy would be on the noon train and wanted to meet them. The next morning Papa, Jay, and Rowdy went to the train station to meet them. They were very happy.

• On the way back in the wagon Daisy was talking all about how it went in the hospital. She was telling Jay about the operation she had. When they got back to the house Grandpa was their. Jay could see something in the barn lot. Jay was so excited that he couldn’t talk. He wanted to tell Daisy but he couldn't. It was the paint gelding that he brought back to Grandpa’s store. Grandpa brought the paint gelding to Jay. Daisy gave Jay the 22. he’s been wanting for a very long time. Mama and Daisy went all over town looking for the 22. while they were in town. Daisy wanted to wait to ride the pony because she wanted to run with Jay. Daisy had never been able to run before. Jay Berry and Daisy went out to run in the hills. Jay had never seen Daisy so happy.

1-7• Slough- a swamp• Terrapin- freshwater turtle• Dagger- short knife• Instinct- natural way of acting or thinking• Arithmetic- dealing with properties and

manipulation of numbers• Determinedly- decided or resolved• Kindling- small sticks• Timber- wood or lumber• Cackling- giving harsh cry• Celluloid- transparent flammable plastic• bawling- crying very loudly• Quavering- shake or tremble when your

speaking• Aggravate- annoy• Hogwash- nonsense• 8-11• Milling- grind of crush• Tassel- tuft of loosely hanging threads• Persimmons- edible fruit that resembles a

tomato• Buzzard- one of several large birds

• Raring- anxious• Codger- elderly man• Brier- prickly scrambling shrubs• Yipped- cry or yelp 12-15• Anvil- heavy steel or iron block with flat top• Snuff- charred part of a candle wick• Washout- event spoiled by heavy rain• Dowry- property or money brought by a bride to

her husband on their marriage • Toadstools- spore-bearing fruiting body of a

fungus• Wheezed-breathe with whistling or rattling

sound in your chest• 16-19• Jarred- painful or damaging shock• Trance- rapture• Propped- position more or less upright by

leaning it against something • Dainty- delicate• Chugging- muffled explosive sounds• Flabbergasted- surprised greatly