Meet the mischievous star of China's bestselling series! Name: Mo Shen Ma Location: China Friends: Loads! But really just Hippo, Penguin, Monkey, and Bat Ears Enemies: Teachers and most adults. Except for his dad-who's funny! Likes: Mischief Dislikes: Homework. Having nothing to do Latest Mischief: Going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for summer vacation and teaching Grandma's pig to skateboard! But Mo hasn't counted on the monkeys being as mischievous as he is. . . .

Mo's Mischief: Pesky Monkeys

Chapter One

The Big Black Cat and the Big White Cat

Mo Shen Ma was on his way to Grandma and Grandpa's house for summer vacation. Mo's grand-parents lived at the foot of a big mountain in the countryside that was also a nature reserve. Lots of rare and protected species lived on the mountain. Grandma always shut the garden gate as soon as it got dark. She said there were wild tigers on the mountain that liked to carry away small children in their mouths and eat them in their mountain dens.

Mo thought Grandma was only trying to frighten him, because he'd never seen a wild tiger, and he explored all around Grandma and Grandpa's housewhenever he went there to visit.

As soon as Mo's dad's car stopped, an old white goose came over, swaying from side to side and honking as if to greet them.

When Mo and his dad got out of the car, they heard someone shouting, "We have guests!" But Mo didn't recognize the voice. Who was it?

Grandpa and Grandma hurried out to greet them.

"Guests?!" Grandma said, looking up. "This is my son and my grandson. They're not guests! They're family!"

Mo looked up too, wondering who his grandma was talking to. A birdcage hung in the porch of the house, and in it was a brown, yellow-beaked bird.

"That's Grackle," said Grandma. "He always speaks when he sees people. Don't you, Grackle? He's much better than a parrot."

"Thank you! Thank you!" said Grackle, nodding vigorously.

They went into the garden. Mo's dad sat and talked for a while, then drove away. He had to go back to work in the city.

After Mo's dad left, the old white goose came into the garden, swaying and honking.

"Go!" Grandpa patted the old white goose on her head. "Some guard goose you are. Go and guard the gate! What are you following us for?"

Mo thought this was strange. "Grandma," he said. "Didn't you used to have a big yellow guard dog?

Why don't you let the dog guard the gate instead of the goose?"

"Good question," said Grandpa. "Where's the dog, Grandma?"

"She's sleeping. She's tired out from catching mice last night!"

What kind of a dog catches mice? thought Mo. Cats were supposed to catch mice, not dogs! So what was the cat up to? Mo was sure there had been a big black cat last time he'd visited.

"Where's the big black cat, Grandma?" he asked.

"The big black cat? Ah! It's a very sad story, Little Jumper."

"Did he die?"

"I would feel happier if he had died," Grandma sighed. "But he's up in the tree."

"Well that's all right then!" said Mo. "Cats like playing in trees."

His grandma looked at him. "Well, Little Jumper, this one has been in the tree for three months, in rain or bad weather."

"He must be starving," said Mo.

"We send him three meals a day," said Grandpa. "Actually, I'm just about to take his dinner along. Would you like to come with me?" Mo nodded enthusiastically. Grandpa put a bowl of pork and rice and a long rope in a basket, then they walked to the tree, which was at the far end of the garden. Grandma and Grandpa's garden was so big that it was a five- minute walk to the tree.

Mo looked up and saw the big black cat. He was lying on a branch, staring at a spot behind Mo and Grandpa, an unhappy expression on his face.

"Come down and eat your meal, big black cat!" shouted Mo.

"He won't come down! We have to send the meal up to him," said Grandpa.

Mo looked up at the tree. It was very tall. And even though he could jump very high, Mo didn't think he could reach the cat. How was Grandpa going to get the food up there?

Grandpa took the long rope out of the basket, tied one end of it to the handle of the basket, then threw the other end up into the tree. The rope was now looped over the branch next to the cat.

As Grandpa pulled on the rope, the basket lifted into the air, closer and closer to the cat. The big black cat jumped gently into the basket, and Mo heard small slurping noises as he ate his food.

After a while, the big black cat jumped out of the basket and lay down on the branch again, staring again at the same place with an even more upset expression than before.

"Why does the big black cat stare like that, Grandpa?"

Grandpa turned and pointed at the house across from the tree. "The big black cat likes the big white cat that lives over there. But the big white cat's owner doesn't like our cat, so he keeps the big white cat tied up at home. And our cat misses the big white cat so much that he climbed up into this tree so that he could look at the big white cat every day. From up there, he can see through the window."

"And he won't ever come down?"

"We've tried everything," Grandpa said. "Once there was a storm that lasted all day and night. The big black cat was shivering with cold, but he still wouldn't come down."

What a stubborn cat! But Mo was stubborn too, and he was sure he could get the cat down if he tried.

"Come on, let's go home," Grandpa said. "We need to take Hurricane Hog his dinner."

"Who's Hurricane Hog?"

"He's our pig."

"Why is he called Hurricane Hog?"

"Because he runs like the wind."

A pig that can run like the wind? Mo wanted to see that at once! "Let's go and find him!" he said.

"You can't find him. He never lets people know where he is."

"Then how do you get him to give him his dinner?"

Grandpa laughed. "I have my ways."

Mo's Mischief: Pesky Monkeys. Copyright © by Hongying Yang. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

---

Excerpted from Pesky Monkeys by Hongying Yang
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.