Morning, afternoon, or evening—Dodi’s shrill cries echoed through the forest. Other animals shook their heads, birds flew away in panic, and even the elder monkeys began to avoid him. “Why can’t Dodi be quiet?” they’d grumble. “What is he always yelling about?”
But no one really tried to understand him.
Dodi wasn’t screaming for attention or to annoy others. Deep inside, he carried feelings he didn’t know how to express. He wasn’t hungry, and he wasn’t trying to cause trouble. He was lonely, scared, and confused. His parents had gone missing during a forest fire, and since then, nothing had felt the same.
He didn’t know the words to describe grief. He didn’t understand why he felt like he was sinking inside even though the sun was shining. So, he did the only thing he could—he screamed.
The jungle, loud as it was, had no place for noise without meaning. So Dodi became more and more isolated. Even the other young monkeys stopped playing with him. “Dodi is weird,” they whispered. “He never stops.”
One day, an old tortoise named Kavi slowly made his way up the hill where Dodi sat screaming into the sky. Kavi had heard the noise too, but instead of getting angry, he listened. He sat next to Dodi quietly and waited. For the first time, someone didn’t run away.
After a while, Dodi stopped screaming. He looked at the tortoise in surprise. “Aren’t you going to tell me to be quiet too?”
Kavi smiled gently. “No, little one. I came to ask why you’re screaming. Your voice sounds like pain, not mischief.”
And just like that, Dodi burst into tears. Real tears—not loud screams. The dam had broken. He told Kavi about the fire, about losing his parents, and how the world felt scary and cold now. Kavi listened to every word. He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t judge.
From that day on, Dodi screamed less and spoke more. With Kavi’s help, he learned how to express his feelings—through talking, drawing in the sand, and even soft singing. The jungle slowly began to understand. Other animals came to sit with Dodi too. He wasn’t just the screaming monkey anymore—he was the brave one who asked for help in the only way he knew.
