Gigi is a giraffe who doesn’t like heights. Which, for a giraffe, is a bit of a problem.
About this story
Gigi’s neck is so long she can see what the monkeys are eating three trees away, but looking up makes her knees wobble. So she ties fuzzy pink cushions to her knees, sits down in the grass, and discovers something the other giraffes have been missing.
Ages: 3–7 · Reading time: about 3 minutes
Moral: Your way of doing things can be a good way too.
Gigi was a very tall giraffe. Her neck was so long she could see what the monkeys were having for lunch three trees away.
But Gigi didn’t like looking up. Every time she looked at the clouds, her knees started to wobble like jelly. “It’s much too high up there!” she would whisper to the butterflies.
While the other giraffes were busy reaching for the tastiest acacia leaves at the top of the trees, Gigi was busy looking for a good pair of knee pads.
She found four bright pink, fuzzy cushions and tied them to her knees. Then, she slowly—very slowly—folded her long legs until she was sitting right on the grass. “Perfect,” Gigi sighed. “The grass is much friendlier than the sky.”
The Ground-Level Gourmet
The other giraffes looked down. Way, way down. “Gigi, what are you doing?” they asked. “The best leaves are up here! Why are you eating with the turtles?”
Gigi just smiled and took a bite of a juicy clover. “Up there, the wind is too loud,” she explained. “Down here, I can hear the crickets telling jokes.”
The other giraffes soon realized that Gigi had found the “Secret Garden.” Because no one else ever ate the grass, it was the most delicious food in the savanna!
Soon, Gigi wasn’t alone. One by one, the tall giraffes put on their own “imaginary knee pads” and joined her for a ground-level picnic. Gigi realized that being silly was actually a great way to lead the herd.
___Gigi never did grow to love the heights, and that was okay. She was the only giraffe who knew exactly what the ladybugs were thinking, and that made her the most special giraffe of all.
As the moon rose, Gigi curled her long neck around her legs, staying safe and low. She fell asleep knowing that you don’t have to reach the stars to have a magical night.
