Hello, this is Natasha.

And this is a story about a very unusual boy.

And an even more unusual monkey.

The boy was out of the ordinary as boys go because he didn't like chocolate. No, not at all. Not even one little bit. And I must say, I've never met a boy like that, not in my entire life.

And the monkey was unusual because he adored chocolate.

This particular monkey went absolutely bananas for it.

And as you may guess, very few monkeys are mad about chocolate, if only because they've never even tasted it.

The boy was called Jim, and the monkey was called Theodore, or Theo, for short.

One day, Jim's auntie Judith took him to the zoo Jim's mother had told her that Jim didn't like chocolate but she didn't believe that poor little thing she said to herself his mum won't buy him chocolate because she's too mean.

But I'll buy him a nice lovely bar and give it to him while we're out.

And that's what she did.

Only it was true.

Jim really didn't like chocolate. Oh, thanks, Auntie Judith, he said when she gave it to him. That's really kind of you. I'll just save it for later if you don't mind. But he did like seeing all the animals in the zoo.

The prowling bears weren't at all cuddly, but they were super cool at the same time.

The giraffes had lovely soft noses.

The snakes in the snake house made Jim's blood turn cold.

But he liked being scared, really, just a bit.

And the monkeys?

Well, everyone loves monkeys.

They looked silly, but intelligent at the same time.

And in particular, one was nicer than all the others.

He came up to the bars of the cage and pressed his face through them.

...