Champ's Flower

Champ’s Flower


Never before was there a chimp like Champ. He had lustrous chocolate fur
adorned with lashings of ginger orange above his waist. His friends seemed to revel in comparing him to a half-peeled choc orange, minus the blue seal of
course. Some had even gone so far as to nibble at the chocolatey bits, always inviting wild applause, which Champ gratefully received. He was quite the
showman, and had amassed a veritable harem of female admirers, who often surrounded him and caressed his fur before plucking away all the tasty nits. Unsurprisingly he was the cleanest chimp in town. Yes, Champ had a
splendid life, and didn’t care who knew it. This is his story.

Perfect!
It was 38 degrees in the sun and Champ was sun-bleaching himself up atop a neatly crafted boulder that protruded out from the centre of the lake. The
eastward breeze rippled his fur and caressed his reflection on the water’s silky surface.

‘Aah’ moaned Champ in rapture as he beheld the portrait of beauty that
winked back at him. The rhythmic ‘swish’ of the water against the rock
absorbed him totally and his heart swelled in tune with the tide... Year after
year passed and Champ remained fixed to that spot.

------------------------------------------------
Champ’s skeleton still lies face down, locked in place, and locked in time. Its seaweed-striped structure a cautionary motif against self obsession. The Monkey-Puzzle Tree is so named for Champ, who never knew his own reflection.