Page 1
Petey the Pig, Claire the Cow, and Gordie the Goose
lived on a farm together. They were
best friends and
they played together every day.
They liked to race or play games
like catch and hide-and-seek.
Page 2
One day a new animal came to the farm,
but he was very different from anyone
Petey, Claire, or Gordie had ever seen.
"Who are you?" Gordie hissed at him.
Page 3
"My name is George," the new animal said.
"I'm a giraffe. I was told that I'm going to live
on this farm now."
But the other animals didn't like George
because he was funny-looking and because he didn't
understand their games.
Page 4
"Do you want to race, George?"
Petey asked him once and George agreed.
When Petey said, "On your mark, get set, go!"
everyone ran across the farmyard.
But George had long, thin legs
and slipped in the mud and fell.
Page 5
"He can't even race!"
Petey said,
and Claire and
Gordie laughed.
Page 6
"Do you want to play hide-and-seek, George?"
Claire asked him the next day and George agreed.
Claire counted: "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.
Ready or not, here I come!"
Page 7
Petey and Gordie were nowhere to be found,
but George had tried to hide behind a bush.
But George was so tall that he was too easy to
spot and he lost the game.
Page 8
"He can't even hide!" Claire said, and the other animals laughed.
George was sad that the other animals
didn't want to be his friend. He liked them
and he thought he could learn to play their games
if they gave him a chance.
Page 9
The next day, Petey, Claire,and Gordie
were playing catch, but they didn't invite George.
"He probably can't even catch," Gordie said.
And everyone laughed. Everyone but George
who sat by himself and watched.
Page 10
"Oh no!" Petey suddenly yelled. He had thrown the ball
too hard and it landed on the roof of the barn.
"Now what are we going to do?" Claire tried to jump,
but she couldn't jump high enough to reach the ball.
Petey tried to throw Gordie toward the ball,
but that didn't work either.
Page 11
"Maybe I can help," George said from behind the fence.
"I'm tall enough to reach the roof."
The other animals agreed to let him help,
and George returned their ball.
Page 12
"Thanks, George!" they said.
"You're good at that! Maybe you're not the best hider or
racer, but you can learn to do those things!
Do you want to play catch with us?"
And George agreed,
and all the animals became friends.
