A faint, desperate sound, like a rustle of leaves followed by a whimper, made ten-year-old Anya pause on her walk home from school. Peering into the drainage ditch, her heart leapt into her throat. There, lying in the mud, was a tiny baby monkey, seriously injured. One of its little arms was bent at a sickening angle, and a gash on its forehead bled sluggishly. It was breathing fast, its eyes wide with a terror that mirrored her own shock.
Without a second thought, this kind girl became a rescuer. She carefully scooped the shivering infant into her school scarf, creating a gentle sling. “Don’t be scared,” she whispered, her voice trembling but soft. “I’ll help you.”
At home, with her mother’s guidance, Anya set up a quiet triage station. The tiny baby monkey, now named Pebble for his small size, was treated by the kind girl with a focus beyond her years. She used warm water and cotton pads to clean the mud and blood from his fur. With her mother’s help, they fashioned a tiny splint for his broken arm using a popsicle stick and medical tape. Anya prepared a rehydration solution of water, salt, and sugar, feeding him drop by precious drop from a syringe.
For the next three days, Anya was his constant nurse. Pebble, seriously injured and fragile, began to respond to her gentle presence. She fed him special puppy milk formula every two hours, even setting an alarm through the night. She kept him warm with a heated rice sock wrapped in a towel. His frantic shivering subsided, and his cries turned into soft chirps when he saw her.
While a local wildlife sanctuary was contacted and would eventually provide expert long-term care, the most critical intervention came first from a child’s compassion. The tiny baby monkey was seriously injured, but because he was found and treated by a kind girl, his story changed from one of certain tragedy to a tale of gentle hands, whispered comforts, and a second chance—all beginning with a young heart too brave to look away.
