The Monkey's Revenge by E.V. Lucas
Clara Amabel Platts, a good little girl who lives near Kensington Gardens with her parents and her governess, Miss Hobbs, struggles with a habit of blurting out whatever comes into her head, so Miss Hobbs teaches her to ask herself three questions before speaking: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary? On December 20, 1907, Clara's aunt, Miss Amabel Patterson of Chislehurst, writes to Mrs. Platts saying that if Clara has been very good she should receive a seven-and-sixpenny Christmas present, but only a shilling one if she has not. Clara behaves perfectly all day, walking round the Round Pond with Miss Hobbs and enduring a disliked pudding at dinner without complaint, so her mother decides the present shall cost seven-and-six. Mother and daughter go to Biter's, the big shop in Kensington High Street with its Christmas window full of boats, dolls, engines, and clockwork animals, and Clara, after much deliberation, settles on a wax doll with tulip cheeks and real black hair. Just then she notices a funny little old gentleman entering the shop and, forgetting Miss Hobbs's three questions entirely, blurts out to her mother that he looks just like a monkey. The old gentleman overhears and is deeply embarrassed, and because the remark was made before the present had actually been purchased, Mrs. Platts is now only entitled to spend a shilling on it. Clara loses the doll, cries bitterly, and is given a shilling box of chalks instead, while the shop girl, Mrs. Platts, and the old gentleman are all left uncomfortable by the scene. Kate Woodley, the nurse, makes things worse at home by clicking her tongue sympathetically over the mishap, and Clara spends a miserable evening, so unhappy that she even asks to go to bed early. Before she can do so, a loud knock announces a box delivered from Biter's, addressed to Mrs. Platts though she has ordered nothing. Inside is a note from the little old gentleman, who signs himself apologetically as looking like a monkey, explaining that he feels responsible for Clara losing her present and so is sending her the doll himself, along with clothes and accessories, hoping she will remember how she nearly lost it. The box contains the very doll Clara wanted, complete with frocks, night-dresses, petticoats, tortoiseshell toilet articles, three hats, a diabolo set, and a tiny parasol for sunny days in the Gardens. Clara, overwhelmed, sits down and cries again, this time from a very different feeling, and Kate Woodley cries with her at bedtime. Afterward, although the old gentleman's gift looks more like a reward for naughtiness than a punishment, Clara scarcely ever again says a quick, unkind thing she might regret, Miss Hobbs's three questions become unnecessary, and Kate Woodley gives up her tongue-clicking altogether.
By E.V. Lucas · Genre: Children's Literature, Moral Fable, Humorous Fiction · 1,927 words
First lines
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Clara Amabel Platts. She lived in Kensington, near the Gardens, and every day when it was fine she walked with Miss Hobbs round the Round Pond. Miss Hobbs was her governess. When it was wet she read a book, or as much of a book as she could, being still rather weak in the matter of long words. When she did not read she made wool-work articles for her aunts, and now and then something for her mother's birthday present or Christmas present, which was supposed to be a secret, but which her mother, however hard she tried not to look, always knew all about. But this did not prevent her mother, who was a very nice lady, from being extraordinarily surprised when the present was given to her. (That word "extraordinarily," by the way, is one of the words which Clara would have had to pass over if she were reading this story to herself; but you, of course, are cleverer.)
Genres
- Children's Literature — Explicitly written for young readers with adjusted vocabulary, explanatory asides to the audience, moral instruction, and engaging narrative about a child protagonist navigating social consequences.
- Moral Fable — Structured as a cautionary tale with clear didactic purpose: Clara learns the consequences of thoughtless speech and the power of forgiveness, with the narrative explicitly framing lessons through Miss Hobbs's three questions and the gentleman's redemptive act.
- Humorous Fiction — Maintains a consistently whimsical and playful tone through narrative asides, ironic naming (the gentleman's signature), gentle satire of Victorian propriety, and the incongruity between the threatening title and gentle resolution.
- Coming-of-Age — Chronicles Clara's personal transformation from impulsive child prone to unkind remarks to a thoughtful young person who internalizes restraint and kindness, with the narrative noting her reformed behavior after the incident.
Tags
children's literature · moral tale · short story · Victorian fiction · Edwardian era · London · Kensington · Christmas story · whimsical · careless speech · rudeness · consequences
What this Textopian page supports
The Monkey's Revenge is listed on Textopian as a short story by E.V. Lucas, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: E.V. Lucas
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Children's Literature, Moral Fable, Humorous Fiction, Coming-of-Age, Victorian/Edwardian Literature
- Length: 1,927 words
- Structure: 1 section, 21 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Monkey's Revenge by E.V. Lucas
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph