Jack the Baboon ( 2 of 2 )

Wording of this Handout:

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Now James had a pet, and a rather unusual pet it was. He had a baboon, which he called Jack.

Jack was a very clever little baboon, and as James did his job as a signalman, he wondered if Jack might be able to help him with it. He decided to teach Jack some new tricks.

Jack soon learned how to pump water from a well, and help with the gardening. And he also learned how to operate the train signals. How did he do this? Well Jack soon figured out that when a train whistle blew down the line, it was time to switch the tracks over. Of course he didn't do this without James being there. Jack would go to the lever and look at James, and if James raised his finger, Jack would move the lever. This was a very important job, because if the track were to switched correctly, the trains might have crashed.

Jack soon learned to go the window, to make sure the signal arm had gone up or down, and then he watched as the train went by. He seemed to enjoy his job, so James let him do it every day for many years.

Soon word got around that a clever baboon was switching the tracks and many people came to watch Jack as he worked, and then one day the supervisor of the railway came to see Jack. He was so impressed he gave Jack a special honour - Jack was now assistant signalman, and was to be paid a small wage.

Three things we can learn from this story:
1. If you work hard at something you will eventually be get very good at it,
2. If you are a diligent worker you will probably be honoured.
3. If you follow the right track in life it will lead you to heaven.