#2 — The Tale of The Tall Man
Once upon a time, there lived a very, very tall man who was so tall that he couldn’t fit into a normal-sized house without breaking doorways and or knocking down walls. For this reason, he was never able to make any friends.
The Tall Man decided to go to the zoo to see if the animals would be his friend. Surely the lonely creatures of the zoo would want to be my friends, he thought. I might even be able to visit some of their houses! This thought excited him more than any other so he put on his over-sized jacket, hopped into his over-sized car and drove across town to the normal-sized zoo.
Once inside, the first group of animals he tried to make friends with were the monkeys. “Hello, there monkeys,” The Tall Man said in his most friendly voice.
“Ahhhhhh!” the monkey’s screamed. “He is so very tall! Run and hide!” and they all ran away to the best hiding places they could find. The Tall Man felt very sad, but he looked at his map and decided to try to make friends with the zebras.
It didn’t take him long to make his way to the zebras and, once he arrived, he noticed that they were all busy eating grass. “Hello there Zebras!” The Tall Man yelled while giving a friendly wave.
“Ahhhhhh!” the zebra’s screamed. “He is so very scary! Run and hide!” and they all galloped away and were soon nowhere to be found. The Tall Man could feel his heart become heavy, but he looked at his map and thought that becoming friends with the giraffes sounded like a wonderful idea. They are very tall, The Tall Man thought. Surely they will not be afraid of me. He lifted his long legs and made his way to the giraffes.
As soon as he arrived, he noticed that they were busy running around the fence to their home and he wished he had friends to run around with as well. “Hello, there giraffes! I have never been able to run as you can run! I will come and run with you if you will let me!” The giraffes stopped suddenly, nearly falling over one another and looked up at The Tall Man.
“Ahhhhhh!” the giraffes screamed. “He is taller than the tallest one of us! Run and hide!” The giraffes scrambled over themselves trying to find the perfect hiding spot, but, they needn’t bother, as The Tall Man was already walking away, crying as he left.
He was making his way to the exit when one of his tears fell on to the ground, right next to an ant. The ant was worried about this tall stranger and began to make his way to the top of The Tall Man’s body. He climbed up and over The Tall Man’s toes and feet, trudged his way through the hairs of his legs and walked around his belly to make the final journey up his to his neck. After what seemed like a very long time, Ant settled near The Tall Man’s ear.
“Hello, Sir. My name is Ant, and I have travelled very far to see why you are upset. How can I help you?” The Tall Man stopped in his tracks and told Ant his concerns and problems. Once The Tall man had finished his stories, Ant told him not to worry and to wait right there.
“I will tell all of the animals in the zoo that you are a wonderful and kind person. I may be small, but I know how to make a great impact!”
Ant began making his way back down The Tall Man’s neck and back, around his belly, through the hairs of his legs and over his toes and back down to the ground. Ant called his friends and told them his plan. Soon, the word had spread all over the zoo. The ants told the worms, the worms told the birds, the birds told the giraffes, the giraffes told the zebras, the zebras told the monkeys and the monkeys knew exactly what to do! Before long, all of the animals were waiting by the fences of their homes and The Tall Man began to notice them all looking at him. At first, he was worried, but the monkeys courageously asked him to come and play with them. Eventually, all of the animals of the zoo took it turns to play with The Tall Man and they continued playing until they were all very, very tired.
“The size of our bodies does not always match the size of our hearts!” exclaimed The Tall Man, and the animals welcomed him back for many years to come.
THE END
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