SHORT STORY THE THREE MONKEYS OF THE WISDOM
THE THREE MONKEYS OF THE WISDOM
Automatic traslation from the original story in Spanish. Not checked manually
Bernardo is a gifted child. He’s just over three years old and speaks with a wealth of vocabulary that many 10-year-olds don’t have, and what’s even more unusual is that he can read and write at a more than acceptable level.
His parents, from the moment he was born, saw him as strange and didn’t quite know how to treat him. When he turned one, they decided to take him to a day-care centre so that he could acquire more normal behavioural habits when interacting with other children.
A few days later, the day-care centre called to tell them that the boy wasn’t interacting with others and seemed extremely bored, and that they didn’t know what to do with him. The director had spoken to a colleague who specialized in children with special needs to check him out and see if he could detect anything.
Three days later, the director’s friend went to see the little boy and, trying to win him over, said:
“Hello, Bernardo! How are you? Are you having a good time?” The little boy, just over a year old, quickly responded.
“I’m so bored.”
The man was amazed. Not only did he speak, but he did so with confidence and coherence.
“What would you like to do?”
“I want to learn to read.”
Very surprised, he took a book he had in his briefcase. It was the book he used to teach difficult children to read.
He began to show him the vowels. After a few minutes, the child was able to identify and even draw them. He continued to explain how to read the consonants with each of the vowels. Not even an hour had passed before the little boy was able to remember and correctly pronounce every syllable, he had taught him.
Pedro, as the man was called, knew he had a gifted child before him, and he told the nursery director so. He also suggested that she tell the parents that, when he turned two, it would be a good idea to take him to a centre specializing in gifted children. He gave him the name and address of the centre.
Upon learning this, the parents felt that, although this centre was the ideal solution, they wouldn’t be able to afford it with their limited income. Saddened, they told the day-care director and asked her to ask Mr. Pedro where they could go that was a public facility.
A few days later, Pedro contacted Roberto and Laura, Bernardo’s parents, directly to explain the solution he had found. They could take the child to the centre he had mentioned free of charge, in exchange for allowing him to conduct some tests with the child, since, given his age, he displayed much higher levels of ability than the average of other gifted children his age.
The parents agreed as long as the tests were psychological and never invasive or had any potential side effects.
At two years old, the child entered the centre and seemed to find what he needed. His curiosity and desire to learn grew, to the point that his parents found it difficult to keep up with the child’s level of development. In fact, he was already reading better and faster than them.
After a short time, trying to keep him from getting bored with them, they decided to buy him a puppy. Maybe he’d have a playmate and feel more company, happier.
A few days later, Roberto showed up at the house with Boby, a Maltese puppy, in his arms…
Bernardo, upon seeing him, was ecstatic and immediately picked it up. Boby, without further ado, gave him a huge lick on the face. The boy began to laugh and sat on the floor with the puppy, who snuggled up to him, sitting next to him while staring at him intently.
Days passed, and it became a habit for the boy and the dog to sit opposite each other, with Boby gazing rapturously at Bernardo as he talked endlessly, telling him what he was learning at school and the things he would like to know.
Boby’s image was hilarious; it listened attentively, fixedly, with loving eyes, as if it were understanding everything the little boy was telling him.
The parents didn’t understand a thing. How could it be that a puppy, and such a playful breed, would simply sit and listen when it was with the boy?
Time passed, and this strange sight stopped surprising them, and they no longer paid much attention to it.
One day, Boby suddenly surprised the little boy when, in response to what he was explaining, it replied in a somewhat ululating voice: “It’s very interesting.”
The boy, without being overly perturbed, asked its: “Can you talk? How did you manage it?”
“By looking at you.”
“Great! That way we can exchange impressions.”
“And I’ll also be able to ask your parents for things.”
“Don’t even think about it!”
“Why? I’m sure they’ll be happy too.”
—Maybe, although I don’t recommend it, I’m telling you from my own experience… Remember the three monkeys of wisdom. See nothing, hear nothing, and keep quiet…
Boby thought that was stupid, but didn’t tell him so and when Laura took the boy to school the next day and returned home because she’d taken a day off to run a few errands, it said, “Let’s see what they’re going to teach him at school today…”
Laura jumped, putting a hand to her chest and incredulously looking at Boby, who was sitting there looking at her, waiting for an answer…
She then whispered… “Fuck! I’m so sick! I thought Boby was talking to me…” and she smiled.
“Of course, I talked to you!” Boby said, smiling back.
Laura screamed and, instead of answering, ran to the phone. She dialled a number, and when Roberto’s voice said, “Tell me,” She answered, “Roberto, come to our house, damn it. Boby talked to me!”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re calling me for this nonsense?”
“I swear, Roberto! Please, come now, or I’ll have a fit!”
Not even half an hour had passed when Roberto opened the door and the first thing, he heard was Boby’s hooting voice saying, “Hello, Roberto!” It then let out a joyful bark.
Roberto, who had returned thinking his wife had had another psychotic episode, had a fit.
Once he’d recovered from the initial shock, he took Laura’s hand and said, “Let’s talk about it in the bedroom.”
The dog didn’t give it much thought and lay quietly waiting for them to come out.
–/–
Three weeks later, after Boby had appeared on several radio and television programs and, even worse, in the hands and machines of a bunch of scientists, it was clear to him how right Bernardo had been when he told him about the three monkeys of wisdom from his own experience…
The Three Monkeys of the Wisdom – Short stories series – Copyright ©Montserrat Valls and Juan Genovés