The Boy And The Giraffe*

Once upon a time there was a boy who lived in a beautiful palace in India.
This was a very lucky boy, for his parents would each week ask him what he wanted for his allowance and then give it to him.
Of course, mom and dad were sometimes too busy to pay attention to their son and in rare occasions they had given him what they thought was better, even if the boy had asked for something else.

One particular week, when it was time for the boy's parents to ask what he wanted next, he already knew what to say:
- "All I want is an elephant".
His parents looked at him like he was crazy, thinking about how hard it was going to be to get a brand new elephant delivered to the palace just because their son wanted one.
- "But why do you want an elephant for? Can't you play with your friends instead? What about all of your toys?"

The boy's parents considered that an elephant was a little too much to ask so they decided to give their son some money instead... maybe that way he'd stop thinking about the elephant and therefore, he'd also stop bothering them.

So after his parents give him the money, the boy took it straight to his room and tossed it into a huge pile of gold coins he had in a corner, feeling rather mad because he had not asked for money but for an elephant.

A couple of days later, after seeing that their son was still not happy, his parents wondered if he just needed a pet, so they got him a fox.
When the boy saw his present he just didn't know what to do with it and after playing for a while he let it go, still thinking about that elephant he wanted so much...

Wait, did I say elephant or giraffe?
I meant giraffe this whole time.

Anyhow, the week went by and soon it was time again for the boy to make a new request.
His parents, thinking he had forgotten all about the giraffe, asked again:
- "So son, what would you like to have this week?"
And they were very surprised when their son said:
- "I told you, all I want is a giraffe!"

Mom and dad were not happy to hear this. They just didn't think a giraffe was a cool pet to have!
So they tried giving his son even more money (which immediately ended up in the money pile) and so the only thing they got was an angrier child.
So, after doing some serious parent thinking, they decided to get him a lion.

- "A lion?! And what am I supposed to do with a lion??"- asked the boy, hopeless.
So after riding it to school (and after fearing his new pet might one day feel the urge to eat him), the boy let the lion go.

One more week passed by and as the boy was growing more and more restless, he was finally determined to use all of his money to buy the giraffe himself but in the end decided to give his parents one last chance.

Finally on allowance day, the boy went downstairs to meet his parents and was very surprised to find a beautiful giraffe standing in their living room waiting for him!

He was so happy that he spent the next two days riding it and eventually, when the giraffe was well trained and could perfectly hold the boy on its neck, he took it outside.
Getting as close as they could to the tallest tree in their backyard, the boy rode his giraffe one more time while reaching into the upper leaves.

- "At last!! My frisbee! Was this too much to ask?!"

The End.


/////
As told by a very sleepy Jason Schwartz.