Another small installment to Melanie Krimm...

The monkey eyed the still much too melancholy girl with a look that seemed to say, "You wouldn't be able to converse with any smelly skunk, either."

Melanie, appalled by the monkey's insensitivity, refused to acknowledge O'Malley's presence for days. He was content to follow her stomps and observe her human habits. She did something strange every morning with a stick, scraping it across her teeth until she was satisfied by her smile. So strange.

"It's called brushing my teeth, O'Malley," Melanie instructed, forgetting her silent treatment. "Oh daffodils! I forgot I wasn't speaking to you. Well, I suppose we must get along now."

O'Malley had no idea what daffodils were, but decided it meant something like "It's delightful to have you here."

That very afternoon, Melanie noticed her older cousins skipping about, making their way into the forest with their splendid skunks. No doubt, they were going to pick bounties of blue berries. Melanie glanced down at her monkey, and definitively decided to take him and introduce him to the Krimm customs.

The monkey stumbled behind a determined Melanie who swung her berry basket with a touch more vigor that day.

They went over hill after hill filled with beautiful bushes of the blue fruit. The monkey had never been quite so dazzled by produce in his whole existence. Though, he did begin to wonder why they had not begun to gather the berries...

"Oh dear, O'Malley! We cannot pick these berries. The best ones are just a little farther..." said the expert, blueberry-picking girl.