Bala the baby Giraffe

Description

Character Dimensions: 1.5" x 1" x 3.25"

I was having a fine time. My giraffe attractant spray was working most effectively. And being homemade was more potent than any store-bought giraffe attractant spray could ever hope to be. Within minutes of whipping up a batch, giraffes I had never met before were lumbering up the drive way in their great long legged way and gathering about the yard for an impromptu giraffe picnic. I wandered freely and unafraid amongst the living forest of legs. Surrounded by the long columns of spotted limbs I felt so very tiny and I had to tilt my head back very far to see the smiling and amused faces of the giraffes who had stopped by.
My neck had grown quite used to this odd position and I walked about with what I'm sure was a goofy grin spread across my face staring up at the creamy bellies of the gentlest of the big beasts on earth. So it was with no surprise when I smacked straight into something but quite a lot of surprise when the voice did not drift down from the tops of the trees the giraffes were snacking on but from nearer my own height!
I tilted my head down to it's normal viewing position, breathed a sigh of relief it hadn't got locked in the tipped back position, and stared at the giraffe who I should have been apologizing to for bumping into. His voice had come from my height because he was my height! A five foot tall giraffe can only mean one thing!!!!!
"OHhhhhhhh you're a baby!" I tried not to squeal this time. I really did and even though I put a significant amount of effort into not sounding like an irritated farm pig I must admit my breath still ended on a peculiarly high note. It's not my fault, I blame the adorableness factor of this giraffe. With the shy tilt of his head and solemn large eyes. The way he stepped closer to his family and peered around the giant leg of an older relative and stared with as much curiosity at me as I was him.
"Well hello there sweetheart!" I want to say I didn't croon...but I'd be lying.
The giraffe's lips twitched and he smiled slowly. "Hello sweetheart." He replied back in slow round tones I always associate with young giraffes.
I grinned and hoped he did not see the baring of my teeth as a sign of aggression. But from the answering, albeit giraffey, grin he returned I was sure there'd been no giraffe faux pas committed on my part.
"What's your name?" I asked, stepping closer into the shadow of the towering giraffe whose leg the young one was standing shyly behind. Overhead the sky was a brilliant blue, the sun burned bright, glinting on the hints of rich gold in the giraffe fur. The birds that normally were all chirping this time of day were silent. Fascinated spectators they lined the roof of the house and watched with awe the informal gathering of giraffes that had descended upon my little yard.
I leaned as close as I dared to the tiny giraffe who was as tall as I was and listened to the quiet breathy answer.
"I'm Bala. Is this a party?" He blinked quickly, a little nervous and tugged his head back under the safety of the elder giraffe. As if a little un-nerved at the boldness of his own question.
"Is this a party...well....why not? YES! Yes indeed this IS a party! We have all the elements don't we?" I spun in a small circle, arms spread gazing at the contentedly chatting giraffes.
"What elements?" Bala's tiny voice was filled with curiosity and he was even so bold as to step out from the shadow of the elder giraffe and into the center of the gathering with me.
"Well we have good companions. All you giraffe-y lot and myself. Umm....what else? We have music, or we would have if the birds weren't so transfixed by the sight of y'all."
"Ohhhhh. They'll sing if we ask them to!" Bala turned his face towards the roof of the house and called out in strange soothing tones to the birds who waited there. They cocked their heads as if listening intently to what ever young Bala was saying and when he finished his speech in what I could only imagine was a mixture of giraffe language with a smattering of bird they all opened their beaks and began chirping.
Under the pleased gaze of Bala my eyes bugged and my ears were no doubt looking quite perked as I listened with amazement. The normally noisy birds, whose calls were quite cheerful but dis-organized, were......singing? Well singing in bird language at any rate but it was definitely a song. And they were all singing the same one. The music swelled louder and faster as birds from neighboring yards swooped in and flew around the giraffes, adding to the music.
"Bala that was amazing!!! Can all giraffes talk to the birds?" I was so impressed and not afraid to show it.
Young Bala poked his chest out with obvious pride. "Yes but....my Mama says I'm the only one who can make them sing like that."
"It's amazing, now it's really a party. What else do we need, what would you like?" I was carried away now. Swept up in the festive atmosphere, feeling pride and pleasure caught in the middle of a small herd of giraffes with my new friend Bala, laughter and music raining down all around us.
Bala shifted on his feet and ducked his head, shy again. "Well....."
"What? You can say it. What would you like for the party?" I slung an arm around his warm neck and Bala pressed close and I felt his furry lips brush against my ear as he whispered shyly, "Ice Cream. I have heard tell of it. I see the young humans with it. Once I spied over the fence of a yard and all the young humans breathed on a fiery lump my Mama called cake. I don't think I'd want a fire cake. Fire's bad but the ice cream.........it looked very nice." Bala's shy words tugged at my heart. If it was ice cream he wanted to try than it was ice cream he was gonna have.
"Hold on to your..er....well...metaphorical hat Bala my friend. You have come to the right place for an ice cream party. Do you know what yesterday was?"
Bala smiled as if sensing an impending joke. "No...what?"
I leaned in close to his ear this time and cupping my hand around the soft flap I whispered, "Two for one day on premium ice cream at the grocery store. Which means......"
Bala whispered back, our faces so close I could see my own reflection in his dark eyes. "It means you got some?" He whispered excitedly.
"Some? HA!" I ran up the stairs to the kitchen with a bounce in my steps. Some? On two for one day on premium ice cream? Bala was in for the ice cream party of his life. Come to think of it....ice cream socializing with a giraffe? So was I!

Character Dimensions: 1.5" x 1" x 3.25"

Added on Jan 06, 2010