Hi Barbara,
The flying monkeys are from the movie "The Wizard of Oz." (I must confess that I never got around to reading the books, so I don't know if they are in the original series, as well.) I realize I was mixing genres a bit, but I wasn't able to think off-hand of other stories in which both animals and little girls played a part. (Would animals know about Gretel, for example?) I felt that the story needed a third example.
Joy,
Lynn
