The monkeys came out of nowhere.

Or, more properly, they came out of everywhere at once. All directions, above, through the trees, scampering across the forest floor, swinging by their arms, dashing across tree limbs. There were all sorts of them, black, brown, red, white; some big enough to hurt a man if they sat on him, some small enough to sit in the palm of his hand.

Muffy cowered and threw her arms around her head, worried that some simian violence was about to be visited upon her, but the monkeys did nothing. They stopped, forming a perfect circle only a foot away from her. They spread out in all directions but came no closer. Slowly Muffy lowered her arms and straightened her body, gazing wide eye at the assemblage of furry beasts crouched around her on the ground and in the trees. She blinked and sighed an inarticulate sigh of awe.