It was just a regular grooming day… or so Mom thought.
Little A Tong, the tiniest and most sensitive monkey of them all, was sitting on her lap with his eyes wide and nervous. He knew what was coming. Nail trimming time. His least favorite activity on the entire planet.
“Just a little snip, baby. You’ll feel better after,” Mom cooed sweetly, holding his tiny hand gently.
A Tong whimpered and looked away, clutching his tail for comfort.
Snip!
Then… OWWWWWWW!!
His eyes popped wide open. A second later, the entire room shook with the force of his tiny lungs.
“WAAAAAAAHHH!!”
Mom gasped, realizing she had trimmed just a little too close. “Oh no, A Tong! I’m so sorry, baby!”
But it was too late.
Tears rolled down his furry cheeks like a flood. He cried so loudly that even the birds outside stopped chirping. Emma peeked around the corner. Dam dropped his snack. Tori and Mato ran in with their ears covered.
“He’s wailing like the sky fell!” whispered Dam.
“I think he thinks it did,” Tori replied.
Mom rocked A Tong gently, kissing his tiny finger over and over. “Mama didn’t mean to, sweetheart. It was an accident.”
Sniffling hard, A Tong hiccupped and looked at her with betrayed eyes, like she’d broken his tiny heart.
She finally brought out his favorite comfort: a warm banana blanket and a drop of honey milk.
Slowly, the tears stopped. His pout stayed.
