Jim and The Money Monster

There was once a poor boy named Jim who lived with his mother in a rickety old cottage in the woods and one day she gave him some money to go to the market and buy some food.

As he was walking through the woods however, on his way to the market, he heard a strange sort of jingle-jangling noise and then, out from behind a tree, there leapt an enormous and very fierce looking monster with sharp teeth and claws.

“I am a money monster”, it said, grinning, “And I eat money. If you have money then give it to me or I will eat you up instead”.

Lying, Jim said that he didn’t have any money but the money monster sniffed him up and down.

“I can smell gold and silver”, he said, “I can smell copper too and I smell the scent of money about you, Lad, now hand it over or I will make you my lunch”.

So, sadly, Jim reached into his pockets and pulled out the handful of copper coins that his mother had given him and then, greedily, the money monster poured them down its gullet.

“yum- yum- yum, delicious”, it said as the coins clattered down its throat.

Sadly however, Jim had to go back home to his mother without any food or money and tell her about the Money eating monster.

And, just as he had expected, his mother didn’t believe him.

“Why you wicked, lazy, good for nothing boy”, she said, raising a stick to beat him, “You’ve spent all the money I gave you on goodness knows what and made up this pack of lies”.

But Jim got down on  his knees and begged and pleaded saying to his mother, “Please don’t beat me. I’ll do better next time. Please just give me another chance”.

And so Jims mother, her heart softening, decided to trust her son one more time and, the next day, she gave him more money to go to the market with.

This time however, knowing that the money monster could smell money, Jim picked lots of herbs and flowers from the garden outside his house and wrapped up the money in a handkerchief before setting off through the woods to the marketplace.

And, as he was walking through the woods, just as the day before, suddenly he heard a jingle jangling sound and, out from behind a tree, leapt the enormous Money monster licking its lips.

“I am a money monster”, it said, grinning, “And I eat money. If you have money then give it to me or I will eat you up”.

And just as he had the day before, Jim lied about not having any money and, not believing him, the money monster sniffed the boy up and down.

Now, because Jim had wrapped the money up in herbs and flowers, the money monster could not smell it.

Unfortunately for Jim, the Monster had other ways of finding money and pressing his ear close to Jim he shook the boy up and down.

“I can hear the tiniest tinkle of the smallest penny and the slightest rustle of a bank note”, he said grinning, “And I hear the sound of money upon you, my boy, now hand it over or I will eat you up instead”.

Sighing, Jim took off one of his boots and, taking out the money that was wrapped up in the handkerchief, gave it to the monster.

Now, just as the day before, Jim had to go back home to his mother without money or food and tell her about how the money monster had robbed him again.

And, just as before, she did not believe him.

“Why you wicked, lazy, good for nothing boy”, she said, this time chasing him around their yard with her stick, “I cannot believe I forgave you and trusted you twice and this is how you repay my trust by stealing my money and bringing back nothing but more of your  lies”.

However, just as before, Jim got down on his knees and begged and pleaded and, because she was really a kind and gentle woman who loved her son greatly, she could not bring herself to beat him.

Yet because she was also no fool, she refused to trust her son again and said that, this time, she would go to the market herself with what was left of their money and he would stay at home and do all the chores and housework and, the next day, it was she who set off into the woods.

Only a few hours later, however, as Jim was sweeping up outside their house he heard his mother screaming and yelling frantically and then, looking in the direction that her cries were coming from, saw her running towards him being chased by the enormous and loudly jangling money monster.

“Quick, Jim, quick!”, she was shouting, “Fetch the axe. The monster is after me”.

And, rushing as fast as he was able to, into his house and picking up the wood chopping axe, Jim soon came back out again and, bravely, he faced the enormous monster and, dodging its long talons and snapping jaws, swung the axe at it as hard as he could.

And, when he did so, to his and his mother’s astonishment, the body of the money monster split open and, out of it, came a flood of gold and silver coins, not to mention other treasure like diamonds and rubies; all the things that, over the years, the money monster had stolen and eaten.

“We’re rich!”, cried his mother, seeing the treasure spill out; rushing over to her son and hugging him tightly, “And it’s all thanks to you”.

Jim’s mother apologized to her son for ever doubting him about the monster, in fact she praised him for what a good and honest boy he was and then shovelling up all the gold and silver and jewels that had poured out of the monster they put them into bags and, the very next day, bought a nice big house and a farm where they both lived happily ever after.