The fairy tale of The Adventurous Gazelle tells the story of Jenny, a young gazelle who got lost in the vegetation of the savanna when the herd of gazelles she was in was attacked by a group of wild, hungry and frightening lions. After a very long adventure, helped by many different friends, a giraffe, a hippo, a chimpanzee, she was able to reach her herd and meet her beloved mother and dear sisters.
The adventurous Gazelle is one of the five chapters of the book “GRANDPA’S FAIRY TALES” written and illustrated by me and my grandchildren. The book is available online at Amazon and, among other international bookstores, at Mondadori, Hoepli, Feltrinelli, ibs.it. The editing of the tale on WordPress is different from that of the published book .
http://amazon.com/author/edoardo.noseda.url
The adventurous Gazelle
Characters:
The Gazelle
Jenny
The Group of Lions
The Giraffe
The Hippopotamus
Jenny’s Mother
The Chimpanzee
Once upon a time there was a big Herd of Gazelles that was migrating from one side of the Savanna to the other for the arrival of the rainy season. Gazelles are herbivorous animals, slender and with long legs. They live in groups of a few dozen of members, but in the Savanna you may see herds of hundreds or even thousands Gazelles. They run fast and light and travel huge distances at a speed of fifty kilometers per hour without getting tired. In the chaos of the migration, the Herd was attacked by a group of ferocious, hungry and scary Lions that didn’t eat from a week – a lion and four lionesses – who had temporarily left their young cubs in the hand of an old grandma lioness.
The Herd of Gazelles was broken apart because of the sudden attack, which gave less defense capacity to the poor Gazelles, and some of them unfortunately separated from the Herd dispersing in the vast dry area of the Savanna. The lost Gazelles were able to join the Herd at last except for a baby one, called Jenny, who got lost among the vegetation of the Savanna. Not knowing what to do to reach the Herd, she looked around and saw the long neck of a Giraffe and thought she could help to locate the Herd thanks to her elevated vantage point.
«Dear Giraffe, my name is Jenny», she said, «Could you please tell me where the Herd of Gazelles that just passed is heading towards?». «I see that you are lost, poor Jenny. I’ll help you, don’t worry. The Herd of Gazelles is going the direction my neck is pointing, I see a huge dust cloud raised in the air by the Gazelles. Go in that direction but be careful of the Lions because they are still around looking for food». «Thanks for the indication and the warning», answered Jenny and at great speed headed in the direction pointed by the Giraffe. While Jenny ran to reach the Herd, the Herd was running at full speed, and for this reason and for being still very young, she was unable to reach the group. Instead, she arrived to a river that the Herd had just crossed, and stopped to decide how to continue.
At the river’s shore she saw a large, gray and fat Hippopotamus, that looked like a floating platform, and turned to him saying: «Dear Hippopotamus, my name is Jenny. I don’t know how to cross the river. Could you please give me a wise and helpful suggestion?». «Dear Jenny, you are lucky to meet me. The river is full of hungry and scary crocodiles which can’t wait to eat another yummy meal, and the Herd of Gazelle, which passed a short time ago, knows something’s about it. The crocodiles let you enter the water and then … I could take you on my back in the crossing, however you have to be very careful not to slip into the dangerous waters when the crocodiles get close to me because you could get eaten». «Thank you so much for your wise advice, dear Hippo. I will get immediately on your huge back». This is how Jenny crossed the river without major problems even if some crocodiles approached the Hippopotamus to try to unbalance him, but they didn’t get results.
Once they crossed the dangerous waters Jenny fell asleep. She dreamed of her dear and beloved mother who told her: «Dear Jenny, I’ll wait for you anxiously. To reach the Herd of Gazelles quickly you have to go through the wide and green jungle. Once you are out of the jungle you will continue towards the high mountain». «I thank you very much, Mom, I’ll do everything I can to get to you soon, safe and sound».
She woke up and continued ready to go up to the edge of the jungle where she met a big black Chimpanzee that was known for his wisdom.
«Where are you going alone little Gazelle? You won’t want to go through the jungle alone and at this time of the day! You don’t know that the jungle is the kingdom of the ferocious Leopards who would be grateful to eat you for lunch!». «My name is Jenny, thank you for your wise advice. How can I go through the dangerous jungle?».«Jenny, I could guide you through the jungle, but we have to wait for the night to try not to be seen by the Leopards. With the moon it will be easier to find the way out of this dangerous jungle. I will follow your path moving on the branches of the trees and I will proudly and carefully guide you from above. In addition, I will also lend you a Leopard fur to cover yourself so that if the Leopards see you, they will think that you are like one of them».
So, they did. They waited for the night to come and crossed the jungle – the Chimpanzee guided her by jumping from tree to tree – without being attacked by Leopards.
Once out of the jungle, Jenny thanked and greeted the Chimpanzee for its guide and helpful advice, then she headed toward the high mountain, following the signs she had in her dream by her dear and beloved mother. Halfway between the jungle and the mountain she saw the Herd of Gazelles and felt her heart breaking the skin and getting out of her body from how much excited she was. Shortly after Jenny met her beloved mother and dear sisters. At last, she was home after a very long adventure, meeting so many kinds of friends!
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