Chapter Two: Men into Monkeys
Can we discern anything in the wood factory situated on the bank of the river? Hundreds of blue collars are working at the moment alongside scores of white collars. There's nothing unusual in it but if we notice carefully, we can easily find out the fact that the workers are changing their colours unawares--the blues are turning whites and vice versa off and on.
Now Omkat, one of the top blue-collar workers, suddenly discovers his naive colleague Bittu is mistakenly wearing a white-collar uniform. Marvelled and amused, he asks, 'What's up, Bittu? Have you gone off your head? How did you manage the white? Don't try to coax me into thinking you're promoted. Um! Who's the stupider feller to have promoted you the undisputed and inspiring leader of stupids?'
'Omcut, you, you takes care! How dares you? I is il-terat but you has no right to insoolt a jontelman. Unnerstan? And what is you? What colour is your collar? Similar me! Doesn't see? You proud bull! But, bradar Omcut, no fight and no fun. What is actually case? What is misstory behind this collar-colour change?'
'Bittu, don't take my words to heart, dear! I was just kidding. But, truly, something must have gone wrong somewhere with everybody. Have a look--do you see anything uncanny anywhere?'
'No, bradar! Ebery man working nice. It is all oky. Ohh, no, no, no! Who's that old grandfa? Does you seen him before?'
'Do you mean the lanky white-bearded sickly man with sunken brown eyes? No, I've not seen him before. How suspicious! Look, he's playfully moving his eyeballs at random with a conspiratorial smile on his face. Now he puts his right hand into his pocket and takes out a handful of small but dazzling silver coins and scatters them on the floor. Some of our workers are picking them up with great interest. What is this? They are groaning in agony with the coins in their fists.'
'Lo, Omcut! They is changing.'
'How terrible! Good heavens! They are changed from men to monkeys. How magical! Let's catch the oldie that is the culprit.'
As both Omkat and Bittu rush off to the mysterious old man, he just chuckles and readily juts out two black wings from under his shoulders and takes off into the sky, while announcing, 'I'm the greatest magician on earth. Ha-hoo!' The whole factory stands gaping at the bizarre 'fact-story'.