Richard the Magnificent Giraffe

The boy kept to himself during the holiday season. His birthday was the day after Christmas and his mother, father and sister helped him blow out the ten candles on the cake that his sister had made for him. Other than his group violin lesson with two other children, and school, he did not spend much time with others.

When the neighborhood kids asked him if he wanted to join their tree house club, he made a fool of himself when he climbed two rungs up the ladder before getting scared and quitting the whole adventure. They made an earnest effort to get Jeffery to go sledding with them, but speed scared him just as much as heights. Soon, the other children gave up on asking Jeffery to do anything fun.

Jeffery looked out the window and saw the big oak tree that was covered with Christmas lights and fields covered with snow and rolling hills that looked like great cakes.

His sister had pointed out that if you looked at the sky and the snow at night it looked as if you were flying through space in a ship! He had three new books from his birthday, and he was looking forward to reading them later in the day. He turned away from the window.

His parents and sister were going to a holiday party, and he was staying home with Great Aunt Penelope. He did not know her well because she did not talk a great deal and neither did he. She had a large snout like a toucan and wrinkled skin that looked like small ditches in a desert. Her eyes were a rich brown and it gave an indication of the fertile plains that she had grown up on. She had just moved in with them because she did not have children of her own, and Jeffery’s parents felt that she would be a happy addition to the house.

Jeffery went into the living room and sat across from Aunt Penelope. She knitted a hat silently as the fireplace cackled away and Jeffery read his book about weather patterns and found that there was really nothing more interesting than the weather. His mother and father kissed him on the forehead and his big sister told him that she would bring back a slice of cake. What luck!

It began to snow and snow and snow and within an hour it was a foot high. Aunt Penelope looked at him, accessing.

“I did not give you a birthday present, Jeffery, but if you go into the kitchen there is a small box that is just for you.”

Jeffery smiled at the thought of receiving yet another gift. “Aunt Penelope! Thank you!” He paused for a moment and then scooted off to the kitchen. He picked up a very, very small box that was wrapped in red and white paper. It made him think of a circus tent.

He cautiously sat down again and looked at Aunt Penelope.

“Do open it boy! Before I croak!”

Jeffery opened it with urgency, not wanting to be responsible for making Aunt Penelope croak.

Inside the box was a small carving of a giraffe, not much larger than a gumball. The giraffe had shining eyes and he felt warm in Jeffery’s hand as if he had just come out of an oven.

Aunt Penelope said, “When my father worked at the circus the giraffe trainer gave him to me. It is your job to make sure that the giraffe has a happy life and gets a great deal of exercise.”

Jeffery answered, “It is a beautiful gift, Aunt Penelope! Thank you very much, I wish that I could give you something in return.”

Aunt Penelope coughed, “The best gift that you can give me boy is that you will take care of that giraffe and exercise him properly. I am too old for such tasks these days, but it is very important to exercise a giraffe. Especially one who is as spirited and as intelligent as Richard”

Jeffery blinked. He remembered that people who are nearly one hundred sometimes get interesting ideas about reality, but he did not want to question her or hurt her feelings!

“I promise.”

That night his sister came home, and he showed her the beautiful giraffe and his parents helped put Aunt Penelope to bed. The house had snow around it like a large white sweater and everyone was in a very pleasant mood. The only thing that made Jeffery nervous was that he had promised his parents that he would go sledding the next day with the neighborhood boys, but the truth was he wasn’t really invited. After he had made a fool of himself in the tree house club and failed to make the soccer team, he had turned down the other invitations from the neighborhood children and now they seemed to have forgotten about him entirely.

Jeffery got into his pajamas and put the giraffe on his bedside table. He took off his glasses. A small tear went down his cheek because he realized that he was afraid of so many of the tasks that one must face in life. There would be tests and quizzes at school, hockey tryouts (that was really terrifying) and the constant threat of having to grow up eventually and face the scary world. He wished that he could play the violin and read books in a house for the rest of his life. In fact, that is what he planned on doing!

Jeffery woke up at midnight when something thumped against his window. He hoped that it was just the wind and not something more dangerous! He crawled out of bed and held his flashlight like a sword and stared out the window. There was nothing there except the tree branches covered in Christmas lights.

“Phew,” he whispered. He did not want to face danger!

Suddenly, in a distant field he saw something move through the white snow. It got closer and closer and at first he thought that it might be a deer or a bear. Jeffery rubbed his eyes. It could not possibly be a giraffe.

The creature trotted through the snow and Jeffery’s heart hammered against his chest. The giraffe came up to his window and knocked against it with his fine nostrils. Jeffery thought of getting back into bed, but he did not want to insult the giraffe. He opened the window and cold air rushed in.

“Greetings!” said the giraffe in a cheerful voice. “I am Richard. Where is your coat? You will freeze in your pajamas.”

Jeffery blinked stupidly. “A coat…a coat for what?”

The giraffe harumphed. “You need a coat for a winter adventure! Don’t be daft! Oh! While you are at it, could you find me a large wool hat? My ears are very cold!”

Jeffery did not want to argue with the giraffe. He went through his perfectly organized closet. He pulled on a pair of socks, he grabbed his coat and then he found the largest winter hat that he could for Richard.

The giraffe tapped on the window once more. “Come hither! Come hither!”

Jeffery looked at the giraffe and asked, “Where should I go?”

The giraffe exclaimed, “Just behind my shoulders!”

Jeffery climbed onto the giraffe and gripped nervously with his legs.

“Don’t grip so hard! I am a fine boned creature! Do not worry! My spots will keep you in place!”

Jeffery said nervously, “All right. Yes, sir.”

The giraffe flared his nostrils. “Please do make an effort to not call me sir! I am not a football coach or an aristocrat! Call me by my Christian name, Richard!”

Jeffery said solemnly, “Yes, Richard.”

Richard said, “And do put a smile on your face! We are going on an adventure! Adventure is like a person! If you greet it with a smile, it will be more amiable!”

Jeffery hesitantly smiled and soon Richard took off at a gallop. He went faster than a train as they charged through the acres and acres of fields in the countryside. They passed by happy cottages, chimneys with smoke and ancient trees. Then the giraffe flapped his little ears and they soared into the sky. They went higher and higher and soon were above Flanigan’s Forest and they could see the village below them like a snow globe.

“Oh! How I enjoy an adventure!” Richard cried with delight.

Jeffery was terrified of heights and yelled out, “What happens if I fall?”

Richard cried with joy, “You would be the first boy who fell off of a flying giraffe! Do not worry, we are on an adventure! Nothing bad can happen on an adventure!”

They soared through the sky and the clouds fogged up Jeffery’s glasses. They went higher and higher and soon Jeffery could almost reach out and touch the stars. The giraffe then dipped down and accelerated towards the earth and soon they were one hundred feet above the Pacific Ocean and a boat floated beneath them and the waves crashed against it.

“Now our adventure is a mission! That pirate needs help!” Richard cried.

Jeffery cried, “Pirate?!”

Richard nodded, “A very young pirate by the looks of him! Barely a teenager, I daresay. He needs mentoring by the looks of the situation. I will try to get him an apprenticeship with the direct descendant of Blackbeard; I know the whole family quite well. I have always rather liked pirates! They are exceptional conversationalists.”

Jeffery could hardly socialize with the neighborhood children! He did not want to encounter a pirate! Even if he was a good conversationalist!

Richard planted himself in the sea so that they were ten feet away from the pirate’s boat. The young boy frantically moved across the bow of the sinking vessel, searching for something that would keep him afloat. He held onto his black hat and his oversized red coat was soaked through.

“Hello! Hello! You endangered seafaring man!” Richard called out.

The pirate turned around and almost fell over in shock. Richard looked like some sort of exotic sea creature, but he was really only a giraffe who was quite competent about seafaring matters. The pirate was young and had not seen all of the animals of the world yet. He couldn’t have been older than ten or eleven and he had painted a mustache above his lip which was being washed away by the water.

“We are here to assist. We will take you to land. Do hurry up! It is quite chilly in this ocean and I do not want to catch a cold while waiting for a young pirate!”

The red haired pirate stammered something and then realized that his only option was to accept help from a strange giraffe and a boy. He grabbed a rope.

Richard ordered, “Jeffery, you must catch the rope when he throws it and hold it tightly!”

Jeffery had never helped a pirate before, and he was quite worried that he would make a mistake.

The boy threw the rope, and Jeffery caught it and held it tightly as the weakened pirate swam towards the giraffe. Everyone felt a great amount of relief when the pirate climbed onto Richard. The boy thanked the giraffe and Jeffery.

“No one will find us out here…we are doomed! I should never have run away from home!” cried the boy.

Richard said in a high-pitched voice, “We do not need anyone to find us! I am not only a seafaring creature, but also a master of the skies! I was taught everything that I know by Orville and Wilbur Wright when they visited my circus! Where is your family? We will land you there.”

The pirate blinked. “I used to live with my four older brothers, but they are hundreds of miles away and they might not forgive me for running away! I am sure that they are all married by now and don’t need me anymore. They wanted me to do something respectable, and I wanted to prove to them that I am brave and that I can do things on my own! I almost did until the storm came.”

The boy scowled.

Richard crowed with delight. “Oh! Four brothers! How delightful! I believe that they will welcome you back with open arms. Do you think that they will have beer and snacks?”

The young pirate stammered, “Well…yes…yes…they enjoy those things.”

Richard flapped his ears once more and they took off into the night sky. They flew and flew and went faster and faster. Soon they came across a large wooden house that rested on a cliff. The lights were on in the house and the giraffe went to the front door and knocked with his nose because the young pirate was too embarrassed to do it himself.

A young man who looked just like the pirate answered the door and his eyes tripled in size when he saw the giraffe. The large wolfhound that stood by his side barked.

Richard harumphed, “Please tell your hound that I am not a zebra! I am a very finely bred giraffe by the name of Richard and that it is not polite to judge a guest! I am here to deliver your brother who has experienced quite an adventure.”

The brother’s jaw dropped and soon the three other brothers stood at the door. When they saw their youngest brother they wept tears of joy and embraced him tightly.

The young pirate burst into tears. “I thought that you would all be grown and married by now!”

The oldest brother with the reddest hair said, “Well, Barry was married for one month and it did not work out so well for him and all of us decided that we prefer the company of brothers. Now you are back and things are as they should be!”

Richard reduced himself in size so that he was not much larger than a horse and the party all came inside. Jeffery was very happy to be alive, and the sight of other people and a warm fireplace made him feel at ease.

The young pirate introduced his brothers, and they thanked Richard and Jeffery for saving someone who was dear to them. They placed the giraffe by the fireplace and gave him a very large glass of beer, which Richard enjoyed and he asked for a second glass and some peanuts.

“Horatio, the elephant always shared his peanuts with me when I worked for the circus!” Richard explained. “It is the only nut that I am fond of, unless I come across a hazelnut of superb quality!”

Richard decided to take a nap. The brothers asked Jeffery about the giraffe and they asked him about himself. The young pirate spoke of his travels and the dangers that he had faced at sea.

Jeffery asked, “How…how do you keep going out into the ocean…are you always frightened?”

The young pirate answered, “Yes, I was always a little frightened, but…I was also afraid of never having the chance to go on a voyage.”

Jeffery listened carefully to the pirate and his brothers and watched Richard snore by the fireplace and with each snore his ears wiggled. Jeffery promised to write letters to the pirate. The brothers thanked him and Richard once more. Jeffery climbed onto Richard’s back and soon they were soaring through the night sky once more and even though it was very cold outside, Jeffery felt a sense of joy overtake him.

Home came into view and Jeffery yelled out, “Can we do just one more loop, Richard? You can go as fast as you want!”

Richard flapped his ears and they soared over the Christmas tree farm and the large hill that would be filled with children sledding the next day. Richard raised his ears to slow down and landed in front of Jeffery’s bedroom. Jeffery climbed into the window and Jeffery shrunk himself back to his miniature size. Soon both of them had fallen asleep.

The next day Jeffery woke up and looked around. Had it all been a dream? He looked at the giraffe on his bedside table and saw that the red wool hat was now small enough to fit onto Richard’s head. Jeffery smiled. It had all been real!

Jeffery put on his jeans and his coat and he ran down the stairs. Great Aunt Penelope was sitting at the kitchen with his sister.

Jeffery hugged his aunt and exclaimed, “I have been exercising Richard just like you said! I am going to go sledding right now and I won’t be back for a few hours! Could you tell mom and dad that I will be back for dinner?”

Jeffery’s sister looked at him with a slightly bewildered expression. “I thought that you didn’t like sledding, Jeffery? Also! Don’t forget your hat! That big red one will keep your ears warm.”

Jeffery said, “Oh! I can’t use that hat anymore…I gave it to Richard!”

His sister went to the hall closet and came back with her blue hat. “Well, I don’t want your ears to get cold. Have fun, I am glad that you are going!”

Jeffery hugged his sister and went outside and took his red sled that he had been afraid to use before. He pulled it behind him and with a big smile on his face he went to the large neighborhood hill and greeted the other children.

He realized that there was a new boy there who did not know anyone and he did not have a sleigh of his own. As Jeffery got closer he saw that the boy had bright red hair and a smudge of ink above his lip. For the rest of Jeffery's childhood and life he went on many adventures and for most of them he had his giraffe with him and many friends.