The Giraffe Story

One uponce a time there was a giraffe named Gracie. She was spotted just
like the other giraffes. She had cute little horns on her head just like
the other giraffes. The only thing that made her different from the other
giraffes was her height. She had short legs and a very short neck. She was
about half as tall as the other giraffes. None of the giraffes made fun of
Gracie for being so short. She still wished that she was a little taller
though, just so she would look like everyone else.

One day all the giraffes were eating leaves in a large group of trees that
they had found. The taller giraffes would break off limbs and pass them
down to Gracie so she could eat with them. Gracie was wondering what it
would be like to be so tall. All of the giraffes had their heads up in the
trees. It must be beautiful up there Gracie thought to herself. She was
upset as she looked around at her surroundings down on the ground.

That's when she noticed a lion creeping close to her group. It was crawling
under the bushes so the giraffes wouldn't see it. Because Gracie was so
short she could see the lion. The other giraffes all had their heads up in
the trees completely unaware. Gracie yelled, "Run! There's a lion." All the
giraffes took off running including Gracie. The lion was fast but too far
away to catch the giraffes.

Once they were safe all the giraffes started thanking Gracie for saving
their lives. If it wasn't for Gracie being so short the lion would have
gotten one of the giraffes for sure. Gracie realized that being different
can sometimes be a good thing.

Told on Nov. 13, 2010