It was a typical morning on the island of animals. The sun broke through the clouds and Mama Giraffe rang the bell to wake the orphan animals. The oldest was Terry the Lobster and his sister Katharina, followed by Édouard the Elephant. Then there was Napoleon the horse and the fish twins Pierre and Paulette.
Mama Giraffe and Papa Giraffe had all welcomed them into their home, because the great storm and great plague had forced them to abandon their homes. They attended school with the other giraffes and Papa and Mama Giraffe made sure that they were treated no differently than the other giraffe children.

Making sure that all animals were loved, respected and cherished was something that Papa Giraffe had learned from an early age from his parents Grandpa and Grandma Giraffe, who still helped out taking care of the little animals on the island.

One day Terry asked Papa and Mama Giraffe if they knew anything about the “Island of the Unknown.”

“What do you know about the Island of the Unknown?” asked Mama Giraffe.

“My friend in school says that it’s a place where people go and never come back,” said Terry.

“I hear that they send bad people there,” said Édouard.

“My teacher said if I’m not nice to her, I will be sent there,” said Katharina.

“Okay,” said Mama Giraffe, “do you want to know what the Island of the Unknown really is?”

“Yes,” said the little ones eagerly.

Mama Giraffe said that the Island of the Unknown was a place where residents of the island of the animals went when the great wind force decided that they were needed at the Island of the Unknown and blown away. No one knew when exactly someone would be blown away, but usually it was those who had lived a long time in the island of the animals. It was as if the wind force told the community, the person being blown away is needed at the Island of the Unknown. You must live now with the memory of what that person has taught you.

“But what if the person being blown away doesn’t want to go?” asked Napoleon.

“Yes, it can be very sad,” said Papa Giraffe. “Sometimes people are ready to fly away and sometimes they’re not. But this is why we need to be thankful for everyone because we can never be entirely sure when we will be blown away.”

Days later, it was again a typical morning and Mama Giraffe rang the bell to wake the orphan animals. And as usual Terry the Lobster and his sister Katharina, Édouard the Elephant, Napoleon the horse and the fish Pierre and Paulette sat around the table.

But on this morning Papa and Mama Giraffe had the red tint in their eye that comes from tears.

“You aren’t going to school today,” she said in a somber tone.

“Does that mean I can run around and climb trees?” said Terry eagerly.

“No,” said Papa Giraffe sternly. “Today is a very sad day for us all. The great wind has blown Grandpa Giraffe to the Island of the Unknown,” he said.

No one said anything for a few seconds.

“So, he’s never coming back?” said Katharina.

Yes, that’s unfortunately true, said Mama Giraffe.

“But we loved him,” said Pierre and Paulette together. “Not fair!”

“What can we do for Grandma Giraffe?” asked Édouard. “She must be very sad.”

Papa Giraffe answered. “This is what we all can do. We can all write down what we love about Grandpa Giraffe. Then we will show them to Grandma Giraffe. Then a group of seagulls will fly them to the Island of the Unknown where he will see them.”

So Mama Giraffe gave all of the animal children little pieces of paper so they could write what they loved about Grandpa Giraffe. Terry wrote that he was kind. Katharina wrote that he was generous. Édouard wrote that he was smart. Napoleon wrote that he was patient. Pierre wrote that he listened and Paulette said he liked to run, which is healthy.

Soon thereafter a group of seagulls arrived and each one took a paper from one of the orphan animals and flew away toward the Island of the Unknown.

“Why do they get to fly to the Island of the Unknown and we can’t?” asked Terry.

“No one knows why,” said Papa Giraffe. “No one can know all the mysteries of the world,” he said.

Later that day, Papa and Mama Giraffe, Grandma Giraffe, Terry, Katharina, Édouard, Napoleon, Pierre and Paulette gathered near the shore. The seagulls called and flew all in unison.

“That means that they saw Grandpa Giraffe on the island and he received all your notes. It makes him happy that he touched all of your lives so much,” said Grandma Giraffe.

And so the whole family held hands and walked away from the shore. Grandpa Giraffe was no longer with them. But his spirit was, and with that they could continue to love each other and help others as he had taught them

Todd

 

La Coccinelle rejoint la famille

Le soleil pénétrait à travers les nuages. C’était une journée lumineuse. Depuis six mois, c’était la première fois que tous les animaux pouvaient se rassembler et se déplacer librement dans la nature.

Le roi de tous les animaux, le lion Alexandre, venait de déclarer qu’un mur protégeait tous les animaux contre le grand braconnier.

C’était le matin. Monsieur et Madame Girafe mangeaient avec les petits enfants, Hervé le homard et Odile l’éléphant. Monsieur et Madame Girafe n’avaient pas de girafons et possédaient une vaste demeure, aussi ont-ils accueilli Hervé et Odile car ils sont orphelins.

Monsieur et Madame Girafe se régalaient d’un petit pain au sucre. Hervé et Odile, de leur côté, se nourrissaient de jeunes feuilles de plante.

Tout à coup, Madame Girafe voit une petite coccinelle à l’extérieur de la maison des girafes. « Regardez, c’est une petite coccinelle », dit-elle.

Monsieur Girafe fait signe à la petite coccinelle et lui sourit.

Madame Girafe demande à toute la famille si l’on souhaite inviter la petite coccinelle dans la demeure des girafes car elle est seule. Aucune créature du monde ne devrait vivre solitaire, explique madame Girafe.

Monsieur Girafe était d’accord avec son épouse et Odile aussi, mais Hervé n’était pas content. « La coccinelle est rouge, comme moi. Si nous accueillons la coccinelle, je ne serai plus spécial ».

« Si ! » insiste Madame Girafe : « Tu es unique parce que tu es toi. Parce que tu as des sentiments, des expressions et une âme qui te sont propres. Cela ne changera rien si nous permettons à la petite coccinelle seule d’entrer dans notre maison ».

« Mais si la petite coccinelle vient vivre avec nous, j’ai peur que vous deux ne me donniez plus de cadeaux et que je ne sois plus important pour vous », dit Hervé.

« Tu ne dois pas être inquiet, Hervé », répond Monsieur Girafe. « Nous pouvons t’aimer tout autant, que tu sois seul ici avec Odile ou que la coccinelle nous rejoigne ».

Hervé conserve un regard sceptique, mais il ne fait plus de commentaires. Odile, de son côté, dit qu’elle veut que la coccinelle grimpe le long de sa trompe.

« Pouvons-nous offrir un abri à un autre animal seul, comme nous l’avons fait pour toi, Hervé ? » demande Madame Girafe.

« Oui » dit Hervé sans grand enthousiasme. Il se dirige alors lentement vers la porte, saisit la clé avec ses pinces et ouvre la porte pour permettre à la petite coccinelle d’entrer.

« Bonjour tout le monde. Je suis Claudette la coccinelle. Le braconnier a tué mes proches, mais j’ai entendu que vous êtes une belle famille. Puis-je rester avec vous ? ».

Madame Girafe dit oui et la coccinelle entre dans la maison. Mais Hervé ne peut résister à poser une question à Claudette, la petite coccinelle.

« Si tu es rouge comme moi, es-tu un homard comme moi ? ».

« Non » dit Claudette. « J’ai des pattes. Tu as des pinces. Tu es rouge, oui, mais moi, en plus, j’ai des taches. Chaque animal est différent et spécial à la fois. C’est vrai pour toi et c’est vrai pour moi », répond Claudette la coccinelle.

Après avoir entendu les mots de Claudette, Hervé lui demande s’il peut l’aider à monter sur la trompe d’Odile. Claudette accepte.

Depuis ce moment-là, les trois animaux ont fraternisé et vivent unis dans la grande famille Girafe, ayant compris qu’ils sont uniques et spéciaux.

Todd Buell