“No animal in my class can be treated that way,” the giraffe teacher said. “Giraffes or lobsters. All are animals. All are the same.”
The Surreal Christmas Story Of Mr. And Mrs. Giraffe And Their Lobster Child
Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe woke up. It was a special day in the world of giraffes. On this day, giraffes usually gathered together to remember a baby giraffe born many thousands of years ago, who offered happiness and forgiveness to all giraffes.
But this year was different. A terrible disease was killing giraffes across the world. The giraffe kings and giraffe queens from all corners of the earth told giraffes that they couldn’t be together this year.
Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe wondered what they could do on this day if they couldn’t be with their giraffe friends and family.
They left their giraffe house and walked on a sandy path near their home. As they walked, they came across a small, red creature sitting alone. It looked sad and confused.
“Are you okay? Can we help you?” asked Mrs. Giraffe.
“I am a lobster who is lost. A terrible storm blew me here and I don’t know where the other lobsters in my family are. Now, I don’t know what to do,” said the lobster.
“You can come with us,” said Mr. Giraffe. “But first we want to know your name.”
“I’m Lodewijk,” said the lobster.
So, Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe and Lodewijk the lobster began walking back toward the Giraffe home. It took longer to walk back because giraffes have long legs and lobsters walk with their claws. But Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe walked slower than they usually do so that Lodewijk didn’t feel left behind.
Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe celebrated the great holiday with Lodewijk and they were all happy.
After the holiday, Mr. and Mrs. Giraffe decided that Lodewijk needed to be with other young animals, so they sent him to the school in the giraffe neighbourhood. When Lodewijk came back to school after his first day, he was crying.
“Why are you crying?” Mrs. Giraffe said.
“The giraffes don’t like me,” Lodewijk said. “They tell me I’m too small and I don’t look like the giraffes,” he said.
Mrs. Giraffe picked up Lodewijk and held him. “Don’t worry about what they say. We love you and that’s what matters,” she said.
The next day, Lodewijk went to school again. But the giraffes in the school still laughed at him because of the way he walked and because he didn’t look like the giraffes. So, he went back home sad again.
Mrs. Giraffe decided she needed to work harder to make sure that her new lobster child was accepted by the giraffe children in the school.
She went to school with Lodewijk the next day. She met with the giraffe teacher. She told her that the giraffes in Lodewijk’s class didn’t like him, that they picked on him and called him names.
The teacher was angry. “No animal in my class can be treated that way,” she said. “Giraffes or lobsters. All are animals. All are the same,” she said.
So, she asked Lodewijk to talk to the class to show that he was just like the giraffe children, even though he looked different, because he was a lobster.
“I know that I look different from you,” he said. “But I still want to live with you and exist with you,” he said. “And I feel hurt just like you do, when I’m called a name that isn’t nice,” he said.
Suddenly one giraffe child said, “when we laugh at you because you are red and walk on claws, does that hurt you?”
“Yes,” said Lodewijk.
“So, you are just like us, even though you look different?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Lodewijk.
Realizing that they had hurt Lodewijk, the giraffes came close to him. They picked him up so he could see the world from the height of a giraffe.
“We’re sorry we hurt you,” the other giraffe said. “We didn’t know you were like us,” he said. “We were afraid of you because you looked different,” the giraffe said.
Lodewijk asked the giraffes if they would remember that he was like them, even after they put him back on the ground.
“Yes, we will,” they all promised. “You are like us. And we are like you,” they said. “We are all animals together. We all can love and we all want to be loved,” they said. And from that day on, Lodewijk and his giraffe friends were happy together.
Todd Buell