The path was quite narrow and the grass had turned brown from the intense heat. Every now and then a jeep could be seen weaving through the deserted fields. The few remaining trees in the area only had branches near the crown. All the lower branches had been stripped of green leaves or stems. The lions could be lying in the tall, dry grass hoping to surprise any animals that passed their way. The water was far from this arid land, so the lions slept during the scorching heat and roamed the area at night when it was much cooler. There were no visible people in this abandoned land. Even native hunters rarely visited this area unless they were in dire need of meat for their families. Only then did they risk hunting in this wild and desolate and sunny area.
The smallest animals looked for food in every imaginable place just to stay alive. The larger animals, of course, fed on the smaller animals to survive. On the long and narrow road, far from the sight of strangers, lived a herd of giraffes. They were the tallest of all animals and because they were so tall they could feed on the treetops for food. This was the home of Gerry the giraffe and his family. His family had lived here for generations and all of his aunts, uncles, cousins and friends came together to defend themselves from predators. Gerry had a huge appetite and ate at least 75 pounds of leaves each day to stay healthy. His favorite food was the leaves of acacia trees. He spent at least 12 hours a day just grazing.
“I’m so thirsty Gerry. Let’s stop eating and go down to the river and quench our thirst.” Penelope moaned revealing her eighteen-inch long tongue. “I need to fill my water tank. Let’s go now before dark.”
“Penelope, you are a pain in my neck. Why do you follow me all the time? Why don’t you go out with the cows? All the other bulls will think there is something between us.” Gerry replied.
“I don’t hang out with them because they just aren’t fun at all. At least you always find interesting things to do. What’s a girl supposed to do here in this deserted place? Have you noticed that my brown spots are? Mom told me it was A sign that I was getting old. She’s trying to find me a match, but I’m not interested in her options. I want a man with some style! ”Penelope kept talking.
“What do you mean by style?” Gerry questioned.
“I mean a guy who dresses smart and looks handsome. All of these around here are plain and simple not good enough for me.” He said blinking his huge brown eyes.
Gerry had heard enough of Penelope’s moans and finally agreed to walk with her to the river in search of water. It had been two days since he had been on the river and he, too, needed to refill his water tank. Their average water use was about ten gallons a day. He really hated leaving the acacia tree because someone else would eat all the leaves.
“What does a man have to do to be an elegant man in your opinion?” Gerry asked curiously still perplexed by Penelope’s earlier statement.
“Well, one could wear a hat, sunglasses, a fancy belt, or a cool pair of socks.” Penelope responded quickly.
“I see and where could one find such items here?” Gerry laughed looking around the area.
“Get creative! That’s what happens to men. They just aren’t the least bit creative and I hate that!” She snapped.
That said, Gerry’s brain began to process all the information it had just received. Surely he could think of something to impress Penelope, but why impress a woman? His thoughts came and went in his mind.
That night, while Gerry slept, he had a dream. In this dream they gave him pajamas and he was trying to figure out what he was going to do with them. He jerked and fell making all kinds of strange sounds that finally woke his mother up, which was not a good thing at all. How was he going to tell his mother about pajamas? I would think he had lost his mind.
Finally Gerry had an idea and it was a very good idea. For days he worked gathering long blades of tall grass. He wove them carefully until he finally had a beautiful tie to wear around his extremely long neck. Now Penelope would really think she was a cool giraffe. Maybe you could even consider staying stable?
He decided to put it on and see what happened.
He had barely tied it around his long neck when Penelope appeared around the corner.
“Oh my gosh! You’re wearing a cool tie! This is just amazing!” He yelled out loud, a big smile spreading across his face.
“Yes! I thought I would use something a little different. I was getting bored with myself!” He exclaimed pretending that the idea came only from his mind and not hers.
“You are wonderful, Gerry! You are the most beautiful giraffe in the world.
With that, she stretched her long neck and hit him squarely on her lips. Gerry’s face changed from a yellow hue to a very shy red.
When the moon appeared in the sky, the image of two giraffe necks could be seen in the distance, all twisted and one very long tie hanging from one.