Curious Carl is a young little monkey. He likes to play and make friends. He is curious about others. He was captured from the jungle where he lived with his family. Curious Carl now lives in a zoo in a big city. It is not like the jungle at all.

The people that take care of him put him in a large pit with big stone walls. There is grass in the bottom but not many trees. There are a lot of rocks to climb on and many big bushes with flowers. Lots of people come to see Carl during the day. Children with big balloons and bags of peanuts entertain him.

Carl likes to watch for the balloons in the morning. He can see them high in the sky before he can see the children. Carl is very smart. He knows that if he greets them with his hand out that they will throw him peanuts from their bags

.When the children go away Carl gets bored. At night it is too quiet and he is lonely. But Carl has a secret. He knows how to get out of the pit where he lives.

When it is dark he climbs on top of the biggest rock. He then leaps from it onto the stone wall. Carl holds on tight by putting his fingers and toes in crevices in the stone. Carl discovered the crevices because he is curious and saw a sparrow putting something in the rock wall one day. Carl looked closer at the wall and noticed lots of crevices that he could fit his little fingers and toes into.

Being a monkey he is very agile and has good balance. Carl was very excited when he learned he could climb the wall and go exploring in the zoo. Carl has lots of friends that he visits each night.

First he stops by to see the lion. Carl likes to pull the lion's tail and play a game of chase. This makes Carl tired so he heads over to the picnic area and rests in a hammock that is tied to a tree.

After a quick nap, Carl goes to see the polar bears. He likes to ride their backs over the slippery rocks where they live. Carl clutches onto their soft white fur so he doesn't fall off.

After his ride, Carl goes to see the penguins. They walk funny. Carl puts his arms by his side and imitates their walk. He likes to watch them dive in the water. Carl dives in the water too.

Now he is wet and cold. Next Carl sneaks inside the tropical rain forest exhibit where the exotic birds live. It is very warm here. Carl swings on one of the big trees the birds live in until he is dry.

It is getting late and Carl is tired again. He lies down in a big bird nest filled with nice warm feathers. He falls asleep.

A loud bang wakes Carl up. Someone is coming! It is morning and the zoo is waking up. Carl runs out the door past the penguin exhibit and the polar bear caves and the lion's den. He scampers over the wall of the pit that he lives in and sits under a bush to wait for breakfast. Carl's secret is safe.