Daisy was a young giraffe, who just would not go to school. Her mother said, ‘Everyone must go to school,’ but she ignored her. Every day, her father dropped her off at the Mountain Cave School run by Headmistress Lion, but she escaped from the back door, running nimbly down the hillside towards the green valley and silver stream below. She would spend the entire day hopping and skipping across the green grass and admiring herself in the still waters of the forest lake.
‘Oh! How pretty I am, what long black eyelashes I have. Look at my beautiful golden skin.’ Her friends tried to talk to her about the fun they had with Mrs. Zebra in ballet class, but she just did not listen. They tried telling her about the different kinds of plants in the forest, the ones which could be eaten and the poisonous ones that should be avoided, but Daisy did not care. Soon she was left alone. Her mother said, ‘Poor Daisy.’ Her sister said, ‘Poor Daisy.’ Her father said, ‘Poor Daisy’ and her friends said nothing, for she had no friends.
One day, when Daisy was having breakfast in a shady nook of the oak tree, savoring the juicy green grass that grew profusely on the little hill near the forest, she heard the tinkling sound of laughter.
‘Yowiee! Yipee!’ She could hear several shrill shrieks of joy, and suddenly Goldie the fawn came running out of the bushes. Snowy Rabbit, Hoppity Hare and Red, the Fox Cub, were bounding after Goldie, laughing and shouting. Daisy could not help but run after them enviously. She too wanted to play with them, she also wanted to feel the wind blowing around her as she laughed and raced across the forest. She wanted some company too. As soon as the animals saw Daisy following them they came to a stop and turned around to leave.
‘Stop!’ said Daisy, ‘may I play with you please’?
‘No,’ said Goldie.
‘Of course not,’ said Hoppity.
Red took pity on Daisy and said, ‘Well, you see, we are on a picnic from school and we now have to go back to eat all the goodies in our picnic hamper. My mother packed us a delicious lunch of fruits, Bobby Bear has brought several pots of honey, Snowy has luscious red berries and Goldie has fresh cold milk. Our teacher has a red crunchy apple for each of us, and then we shall all go and get a drink from the cool water of the stream. Since the picnic is only for the children of the Mountain Cave School, you cannot join us. If we play with you, Mrs. Lion might get angry.’
Daisy hung her head in disappointment and embarrassment. How she wished she had listened to her parents and gone to school. She now realized how bored she was running around the forest all alone. She had no one to talk to. Even her younger sister seemed to know so much more than Daisy about everything, and had no time for her anymore. Daisy then made a very brave decision. She went to her mother and said, ‘Mamma, Mamma, I also want to go to school.’ Her mother was so happy; she enveloped Daisy in a great big bear hug. The very next day, she went and bought Daisy a new water bottle made from the best coconut shell available in the market and a lunch box to keep her leaves green till break time. Daisy also got a nice blue school bag with a pattern of daisies, as in her name. Ooooh, wasn’t she a smart giraffe now?
Daisy has now been in school for six months. She has to go to a class with children two years younger than her, since she had never been to school before, and had a lot to learn, but she is working hard and will soon catch up. Now Daisy has many friends, and if you ever go to Green Glade forest you can hear them all laughing and playing every evening.