Pourquoi Stories and "Why Monkeys Live in Trees"

How to tell you're reading a pourquoi story:

I) Pourquoi stories answer the question of WHY something happens or WHY something is the way it is.

            II) Pourquoi stories usually are stories passed down orally from generation to generation.

When we read "Why Monkeys Live in Trees," we saw that it is a pourquoi story!  There are three reasons why this is true:

1)  It says "Retold by" in the title.
2)  We learn that chickens lost their ears when a hippo shouted too loud.
3)  We learn that monkeys live in trees to escape angry animals after being very tricky and winning the gold!


Also, realize that a pourquoi story is considered Traditional Literature. :)