Ernie is an out-of-work actor who’s reduced to applying for a job as a gorilla impersonator. When he gets it, he’s shocked to discover that he’ll be working at the Central Park Zoo, where budget cuts have made it impossible to replace the old gorilla who passed away.
Ernie puts on the costume, gets in the enclosure, goes through the act, and starts to realize that the kids love it. And he gets into it because he’s an entertainer, after all. He’s beating his chest, eating the bananas, swinging on vines, and he gets so into it that when he’s swinging on one of those vines, he ends up going out of the gorilla enclosure and lands right in the lion’s den.
Then a lion, the king of beasts, comes over to Ernie with an enormous growl and continues roaring right in Ernie’s face. Terrified, Ernie immediately goes into survival mode and can’t think of anything to do except pray. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
He’s shocked when the lion pauses his growl and says, “Amen!”
Then, over from the bear enclosure, someone hisses, “Will you guys shut up? Stay in character, or you’ll get us all fired!”
