The Monkey
"The Monkey" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in Gallery magazine in 1980. It was significantly revised and published in King's collection Skeleton Crew in 1985.
Plot summary
The story centers on a cymbal-banging monkey toy with supernatural powers. Every time the monkey claps its little cymbals together, a nearby living thing dies. The monkey is found in a family's attic in an old toy chest by two young brothers, Petey and Dennis, unknowing that their father, Hal, had been tormented by the monkey years ago, when it worked its lethal enchantment on his family and friends, until Hal had chucked it down the old well at the home of his uncle and aunt. The monkey had belonged to Hal's unnamed father, a merchant mariner who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and Hal found the monkey among the various trinkets and junk left behind by him. Hal takes the monkey and throws it in Crystal Lake, hoping that it won't be able to escape from it. The story ends with an excerpt of a newspaper article which reports on a mysterious die-off of fish in the lake.
Friends (season 1)
The first season of Friends, an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing on May 18, 1995.
Season synopsis
This season introduces the six main characters: Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing and Ross Geller. Rachel, who left her fiancé at the altar on her wedding day, has come to New York and ends up living with Monica. It is established early on in the season that Ross has been in love with Rachel since the two characters attended high school. Several episodes revolve around his attempts to tell her how he feels. Meanwhile, Ross's estranged lesbian ex-wife, Carol, is pregnant with his baby. This puts Ross and Carol's lesbian life partner, Susan, in an awkward position. Due to the loneliness, Ross gets a capucin monkey who he names Marcel. When the baby is born at the end of the season, Ross, Carol, and Susan agree to name him Ben after a name tag on a janitor's uniform worn by Phoebe. The episodic nature of the season sees the characters learning moral lessons about life and having multiple dates, many of which go wrong, yet each episode still ended happily. The recurring character of Janice is introduced as a girlfriend Chandler breaks up with in an early episode but frequently returns to. Ross leaves for a fossil dig in China at the end of the season, but when Chandler lets it slip about Ross's continuing feelings for Rachel on her birthday, she is shocked to find out. She rushes off to the airport to tell him about her feelings, but he has already boarded the plane. The season ends with a cliffhanger in which Rachel goes to greet Ross at the airport after his return, unbeknownst to her that he has a new girlfriend.
The Monkey
The room was dark and short of breath
And smelled like some poor junkie's death
All had been dreamed All had been tried
The monkey's long arms opened wide
And now at last we all get to make love to the monkey
A glow beneath A bang above
A whimper at the end of love
No one has slept and sweetly dreamed
Not since the monkey bucked and screamed
The monkey's breath is sweet and strong
The monkey's tongue is wet and long
He neither speaks nor understands
