描述
Georges Baboonfouillis had one big goal in life and that was "to the moon". At a meeting of the Primate Principal Astronomy Club of the Monkeyverse, he, a professor and president of the organization, proposed an expedition to Earth's only natural satellite. The plan was to fly to the moon in a capsule fired from a gigantic cannon. Although a monkey scientist initially objected, and after addressing some dissenting opinions, the decision to undertake this endeavor was unanimously approved. Preparations began immediately. Five other brave astrochimps – Nostradasimius, Apecofrisbas, Orangmega, Micromarmoset and Parafaraguenomus – agreed to participate.
A week later, the six selected monkeys inspected the assembly of the capsule and watched the cannon being cast from the roof of the institute. A lunar capsule in the shape of a bullet was built along with a huge cannon to launch it into space. For a short time, there was disagreement about how big the storage room should be to accommodate the banana provisions for the journey. Micromarmoset thoughtlessly told Orangmega that if he weighed less, more bananas would fit in the spaceship. This almost resulted in the journey taking place with only five astrochimps. But Georges intervened and gave each monkey a banana to chew on, knowing that a full mouth was notoriously bad for arguments. Luckily, both were able to calm down and let the matter rest.
A month later, the astrochimps – each equipped with a large towel and an umbrella – embarked and the lunar capsule was loaded into the giant cannon. It was then fired with the help of female monkeys in sailor costumes. Georges was a bit irritated by this, but the only explanation he got was that the institute was understaffed. The launch was successful, and the six monkeys were catapulted into space. As the adventurers neared the moon in their trajectory, the Primate in the Moon watched the capsule as it approached – and how it unfortunately hit him in the eye.
Landing safely on the moon, the astrochimps – without the need of space suits – got out of the capsule and watched the Earth rose in the distance. Exhausted from their journey, all six unrolled their towels and slept. As they slept, a comet passed, the Big Dipper appeared with faces peering out of each star, old Saturn leaned out of a window on its ringed planet, and the Goddess of the Moon was seated in a crescent-moon swing. Enraged at the invaders, the goddess caused a snowfall that awakened the astrochimps, and they sought shelter in a cavern to flee the cold. There giant mushrooms grew in the cavern, and when Parafaraguenomus rammed his umbrella into the ground, the umbrella itself took root and turned into an ever-growing mushroom. Lured by this, the Selenites, the moon's insect-like inhabitants, attacked the travelers. Georges and his companions fended off the Selenites with their remaining umbrellas, and Georges managed to vaporize one of them in a puff of smoke with one powerful punch. However, the Selenites so far outnumbered the apes that they eventually had to flee to avoid capture. The monkeys managed to escape and return to the lunar capsule. Georges rocked the capsule on the edge of what appeared to be a bottomless abyss, but it wasn't until a Selenite had jumped astride the capsule to seize it that it fell over the edge – and back toward Earth.
The capsule crashed into the ocean, where it was towed to the nearest port. At the port the adventurers were welcomed like heroes and enthusiastically celebrated. The Primate Principal Astronomy Club of the Monkeyverse bestowed the Order of the Paniscian Knights of the Moon upon the returnees and a commemorative statue was unveiled, bearing the motto "Labor omnia vincit"…
George Baboonfouillis woke up in his bed, drenched in sweat. Groaning, he rubbed his face. Maybe in the future he shouldn't stay up so late and listen to forecasts about the banana coin stock market.