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Once upon a time on the African savannah there lived a family of beautiful giraffes. There was a father, a mother, and a young son. The parents were very proud of their son.
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There was only one problem with their son-he was afraid of heights. He could not lift his head above his shoulders without getting scared and falling. His parents always had to watch for lions that could hurt him because he could not see above the grass himself. They decided to send him to the village doctor for help.
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The parents gave the young giraffe a
map to the doctor's office and sent
him on his way. The path twisted
and turned as it followed a river.
The young giraffe smelled the
plants that lined the path.
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As he rounded a bend in the path, the
giraffe saw a young monkey sitting on
the ground drawing
pictures in the dirt.
"Hello," the giraffe said
to the monkey.
"Hi," she replied.
"Nice to meet you,"
said the giraffe.
"What are you doing?"
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"I am supposed to go to the doctor today
because I'm afraid of climbing trees.
I'm in danger of getting hurt by other
animals on the ground. The doctor is
going to help me."
"Wow!" cried the giraffe. "I'm going to the doctor,
too. I'm afraid of heights. We can go together."
"Let's go," answered the monkey.
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The two new friends walked down the path until they came to a spot where the path crossed the river. A young hippo sat and cried in the grass at the edge of the river.
"What's wrong?" asked the giraffe.
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"Well, I need to go to the doctor today because I'm afraid of the water; but I'm too scared to cross the river," sobbed the hippo.
"Guess what! We're on our way to the village to see the doctor, too. Maybe we can find a way for you to go with us," said the giraffe.
"I don't see how. I can't get across the river."
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The giraffe and hippo sat by the path
trying to come up with an answer to their problem
while the monkey dangled her feet in the river
and gently kicked the water.
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But the kicking of her feet attracted the attention
of a crocodile. It slowly made its way through the
water. As it approached the monkey, it raised its
head out of the water and opened its mouth
very wide - ready to eat lunch!
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"Help, help, there's a crocodile after me!"
the monkey cried as she ran away from the river.
"Come here, quick! Jump onto my head!"
shouted the giraffe.
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The monkey leapt onto the giraffe's head and he lifted her as high as possible. The giraffe's long legs shook, sending a chill clear up his long, stiff, scared self. The shiver didn't stop until it reached his head. Or maybe the shaking was the monkey, who trembled as she held his ears.
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The monkey jumped into one of the trees, grabbed some coconuts, and threw them at the crocodile.
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Just then the hippo charged the crocodile. The crocodile ran away as fast as he could, but the hippo chased after him at full speed! They both crashed into the river, sending a huge spray of water into the air. The two fought, turning each other over and over until the crocodile decided he had had enough and swam away.
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"You stay away
from my friends!"
roared the hippo as he watched
the crocodile swim away.
"Hey, you were awesome.
You saved my life,"
the monkey said to the hippo.
"You jumped into that river
and chased that crocodile away!"
She turned to the giraffe,
"And you lifted me into the tree
so I wouldn't get eaten!"
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"Hey do you know
what that means?"
asked the giraffe.
"We aren't afraid anymore!
We don't have to go to the doctor!"
The hippo played and swam in the river.
The monkey collected coconuts from high in the trees.
The giraffe proudly held his head in the air,
watching for hungry predators.
