The Stranger

Manny Manicou was tired. He had been picking cherries all morning and was now too tired to pick those at the top of his tree. So, not wanting to wait for tomorrow, he decided to go next door to ask his neighbour's son for help when unexpectedly a stranger came up to him.

"Good day Sir," said the stranger, "Um my name is Ti. I couldn't help but notice your tiredness. Would you like me to help you pick dose cherries?"

Manny Manicou was delighted. Dat is a nice animal eh, he thought.

"Sure, no problem," he said then gave the stranger the bag to put the fruits in.

About an hour later, Manny Manicou woke up quite sudden from his nap. Apparently, he had fallen asleep under a nearby Mango tree while watching his new friend work. Quickly, he stood up and walked over to the cherry tree to meet him but surprisingly Ti was not there. Frowning, he called out his name a few times but there was no answer.

"Oh well," said Manny Manicou to himself, "at least he did his job."

Manny took hold of the bag and tried to lift it but it was too heavy. Wow, he thought. He had never expected the bag to be this heavy. He thought for a moment on how he could get the bag up to his tree hole and soon came up with an idea. All he had to do was pour half of the cherries into another bag then carry them up one by one. So quickly, he went for another bag then untied the other one and started pouring. However, what came out was not what he expected at all. Instead of cherries, there were small stones.

Manny Manicou was furious. He could not believe his eyes. The stranger had practically tricked him in his face. Wasting no time, Manny speedily went throughout the forest looking for him but he was nowhere to be found. No one knew who he was and it became obvious that the name Ti was fake. After hours of searching, Manny reluctantly gave up and slowly headed back home. This was the worst day of his life, he thought. Suddenly, he grandma's famous proverb came to mind, don't close your eyes on a stranger. If only he had remembered this before.