Curious George: A Quiet Day at Home

by Marko Peric
with apologies to Margaret and H.A. Rey

"I have some business to take care of today, George," said the man with the yellow hat. "I can't bring you along."

The man with the yellow hat took a violin case and left. He got in his car and drove away. Curious George was all alone. He looked around the apartment, and saw a big desk. He opened a drawer in the desk, and found many interesting things. There was a stapler, some pens, and a bag of green leaves. George ate a few, but they didn't taste very good, and they made his head spin. There was also a small black metal object that George had never seen before. It had a trigger, and when George pulled it, it went "Bang!" and jumped. It was very loud. George decided this must be some new toy.

Curious George decided to go outside with his new toy. He showed it to a man on the street. The man gave George his wallet and ran away. Then George showed it to some girls playing hopscotch. They screamed and ran inside. Curious George went down the street. He saw two dumb-looking boys wearing T-shirts with words that George did not know.

The boys said "Look, a monkey with a gun. Heh heh. Heh heh. Monkeys. Guns. Heh heh. Heh heh." Curious George did not like the boys. He pointed the gun at them and waved it. They laughed at him. George pulled the trigger. One of the boys screamed and fell to the ground. The other ran away as fast as he could.

A tall man in a blue uniform came around the corner. He saw George and yelled "Somebody get that monkey!"

Several other men in blue uniforms came running, but George ran into the park and climbed up a tree. He jumped from tree to tree, and soon the men could not find him. George climbed down and hurried away. He came to a grassy knoll, and went to the top of it. From there, he could see some cars driving in a line down below. He watched the cars.

Suddenly there was a bang! George jumped and accidentally pulled the trigger on the gun. Down on the road, there was a lot of yelling and sirens. George dropped the gun and ran away. He went home. Soon the man with the yellow hat came home. He didn't have the violin case with him.

"Did you have a quiet day at home, George?" the man with the yellow hat asked.

Curious George, being a monkey, did not answer.

The man with the yellow hat opened his desk. He looked around in the drawer.

"Hey, have you seen my gun?" he asked.

Curious George just smiled.