Buhuki

Another delightful children’s story by this author. This one tells of a little monkey who spends his days eating fruit and befriending the local children. One day he steals a Peni waraka fruit away from a murder of crows. As they give chase our hero ends up covered in cotton wool (presumably a native crop). He is then mistaken for a ghost by the villagers and by his own troop of monkeys. In the end his mother recognises his voice and he is reunited with his family. So the story is just about a silly mishap and it does not contain any key message or moral (other than don’t steal food from other animals). However, it is told in a charming manner and the references to native Sri-Lankan plants and animals make it quite unusual.