Mortamer was a tree monkey who lived in the jungles of Brazil with his parents, and their pet snail, Johnson. They lived in a grass house built in the very tops of the trees, so high that they could see the whole jungle from their front porch. One day, Mortamer and his parents were outside hunting for food and the sky turned black! The sun was gone, hidden behind giant black clouds! Big winds shook the very trees of the forest, scaring poor little Mortamer who had turned 7 years old yesterday. 

Then, without warning, the sun was back! It was bright and sunny, and jungle birds were singing with all the other jungle animals. Little Mortamer and his parents quickly went back to their tree, only to find something very sad! Their poor little house lay on the ground, smashed to pieces! The wind knocked it down! Little Mortamer was very sad, and started to cry. His parents smiled, and started to pick up the pieces. Other monkeys came by to help, too. Soon everyone was fixing Mortamer's house, and he was a very happy monkey.
what were they doing when everything went dark?
hunting for food