The Great Fire and the Tall Giraffe
Once there was a tall giraffe named Stretch. He could easily eat leaves from the tops of trees.
One very dry and sunny day, his friend Chatter the Monkey was very hungry because there was no food on the ground. Stretch kindly dropped some leaves from the top of the tree for Chatter to eat.
Chatter told Stretch that all the other animals, like the zebras and elephants, were hungry too because the grass was all dried up. They didn't know what to do.
Stretch had an idea! He carried Chatter on his long neck to see Leo, the wise lion. Leo told them that because it hadn't rained, the only choice was for the animals to take a long trip to the jungle where there was more food.
As Stretch and Chatter returned, they found all the animals ready to go! An eagle named Soar had overheard their plan and told everyone.
As they all started their long journey, a fire started in the dry grass! Because Stretch was so tall, he could see a safe path. "This way!" he shouted, and led all the animals away from the fire.
Just then, something wonderful happened. It started to rain! The rain put out the fire and would make all the plants grow again. Everyone was safe and would soon have plenty of food. They didn't need to go to the jungle after all!
Difficult Words and Their Meanings
- Kindly - to do something in a nice and caring way.
- Dried up - having no water left; completely dry.
- Wise - being very smart because of experience and knowledge.
- Overheard - to hear something by accident when you are not part of the conversation.
- Journey - a long trip from one place to another.
- Path - a track or way made for people or animals to walk on.
- Plenty - having a lot of something; more than enough.