Dance, Monkey!

Fair  Episode 5

Trapped! No matter what Eric did, he couldn't remove the collar from around his neck. There was also a chain that extended from the collar to Professor Moltavio's wagon. Worst of all, it seemed that the evil professor had somehow turned Eric into a monkey! He knew there would be dangers in the city, but he never imagined that things would be this bad!

"You can't keep me here like this! I demand you let me out of this collar and change me back to myself, Professor," exclaimed Eric.

The Organ Grinder looked down at Eric with an evil grin on his face and said mockingly, "Oh, but I can. There is no one who will stop me; not even your stupid friends. Who would believe a lowly monkey over me when you try to tell them your story? And don't try to run away, because I have this..." The professor then pulled a little black box with a red button out of his pocket.

Then the Organ Grinder's eyes slowly widened as he exclaimed with a snarl, "You are wearing a shock collar! If I push this button, or if you try to go too far away, the collar will give you a zap of searing pain!" The evil Organ Grinder then lifted up his thumb in a slow and obvious fashion and plunged it down on the red button! A jolt of agony slammed into Eric, and he fell to the ground writhing in agony!

"Now," the professor slowly said, "when I begin playing my organ grinder, your job is to dance around foolishly and collect money from my adoring audience. As long as you do as you're told, I won't press this button. If I have to press the button in front of anybody, it will just look like part of the act." With that, the evil Organ Grinder gave the button a quick push that sent another jolt through the collar!

After a few moments Professor Moltavio began to turn the crank of the organ grinder, and the most awful sounding music Eric had ever heard began pouring out of the gaudy box. Then the evil Organ Grinder looked at Eric and said, "Dance, monkey!"

Eric didn't want another painful jolt through the collar, so he began to lift his feet up and down in what he hoped would pass for a monkey dance. It seemed to work because random people began to pause and stare at the funny little monkey.

For reasons Eric couldn't understand at all, a crowd began to form around them. Random people began throwing coins near him, and the Organ Grinder urged him to pick them up. When his little basket was filled, he would take the coins to the Organ Grinder. Then poor Eric recognized one of the coin throwers. It was Will! Eric hoped Will would recognize him.

"Will," he called as he danced on. "It's me, Eric! Save me! The Organ Grinder turned me into a monkey, and he has enslaved me! Please, help me!"

Will looked a little closer at him, and exclaimed, "Ha! It's you! How could you let yourself be tricked like this, you idiot! I'd never let anyone put one over on me like that! You deserve what you get!" With the hand that wasn't holding on to his flute, he tossed a few coins in Eric's direction and said, "Now dance, monkey!"

The rotten Organ Grinder gave the monkey a warning look, so the monkey had no choice but to continue his little monkey dance. It seemed as if hours had passed when another of his friends showed up. It was Riley, drinking a cup of lemonade. Eric went to him and pleaded, "Riley, it's me, Eric! Professor Moltavio has turned out to be evil, and he has enslaved me as his dancing monkey! Please save me!"

Riley looked at the monkey, and his eyes widened as he said, "Eric? It is you!" Then a dullness glazed over Riley's eyes, and he said, "You know, nobody ever helped me before, so I'm not gonna help you." Riley then took another drink of his lemonade, dropped a coin in Eric's basket,  and said, "Dance, monkey!"

Soon other musicians began to join the Organ Grinder until they had formed a whole band. The crowd began to clap, and Eric saw his third friend come to the front of the crowd. "Sam," Eric screamed! "Thank god it's you! The other two won't help me, but I know you will! Please help me escape from this enslavement that Professor Moltavio has subjected me to," he said in desperation.

Sam looked down at Eric with a startled look on his face. He leaned in closer and whispered, "Eric, get away from me! What would all of these people think if they found out that I know a dirty little monkey!" Then in obvious fashion Sam dropped two coins into Eric's basket, and in a much louder voice Sam said, "Dance monkey!"

Then a huge painful jolt came through the collar, and Eric went writhing onto the ground! His basket was turned sideways and coins rolled out everywhere! Out of the corner of his eye, Eric saw Riley grab a few coins that rolled his way. Something inside Eric's mind snapped and he didn't care so much about the pain anymore. He struggled to his feet and began screaming, "I'm not really a monkey! Somebody help me! Save me from this horrible bondage!"

In the middle of his mad fit the crowd quieted down to a whisper, and the music came to an abrupt halt. But the monkey was flabbergasted to see that the people weren't looking at him! Every member of the crowd had their back to him, and he heard whispering tones of awe from random people in the crowd, "The Mayor! The Mayor!"

The crowd then slowly parted in front of Eric, and a heavy set man in a fancy suit came strolling out of the crowd. As he got close he looked down at Eric and cleared his throat, "Harrumph! What seems to be the problem here? How can I help?"

A flood of relief came over Eric, and he poured his story out to the Mayor. A look of anger came over the face of the Mayor, and he slowly gazed over at Professor Moltavio, and then to the crowd of onlookers. Then suddenly his arms shot up and he looked to the sky and yelled in a cheerful boisterous tone, "Dance, Monkey!"

A loud cheer burst from the crowd, and the music abruptly resumed its horrible frenzy. Coins were flung at the monkey from what seemed like everywhere, some bouncing painfully off of his head. It all continued that way even as it began to get dark. The monkey noticed that some people were now beginning to build a huge bonfire in the middle of the crowd, and it began to light up the night sky.

The music raged on and the monkey danced. The crowd cheered on and on in an animated frenzy. And as more objects were thrown onto the big bonfire, sparks shot up from it into the night sky. One little spark rose higher and higher as if it was determined to last forever. But the end for most things is inevitable, and the spark began to dim. Just as the little spark finally winked out of existence, a cry could be heard coming up from far below, "It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!!!"