Chapter 7: chapter 7

How Giraffes Came to Have Long NecksThis one is a folktale straight from the grasslands of Africa. Many, many centuries ago, the giraffe and the rhinoceros used to be close friends. The duo would spend their whole day together.They would call each other as soon as they woke up and then step out to look for some breakfast. They would gambol around in the grasslands, munch on some fresh grass and leaves and then lie under the shade of a small tree for a siesta in the afternoon, before heading home.One year, the sun was particularly harsh. The rain gods had not blessed the grasslands at all. The trees drooped because of the harsh sun and lack of water. The giraffe and the rhino noticed that the shrubs and grass they would usually feast upon were drying up, and there was very little around them to eat.They had to go farther and farther every day to find some vegetation. And because they spent the whole day looking for food, they had no time left to play.They decided it was time to visit a sangoma, a healer of sorts, and ask for a solution to their predicament. The nearest sangoma lived a few villages away, so the giraffe and the rhino set out early in the morning. It was noon by the time they reached the sangoma’s hut.The wise one met them with closed eyes. The two friends bowed before the sangoma in respect.‘O wise one, we need you to help us. There is no longer food to graze on in our part of the grasslands. All day we walk and walk but find very little to munch on. Please help us,’ the giraffe pleaded. The wise one opened her eyes and looked at them before saying, ‘The rain gods have been sulking. They will take time to be convinced to visit us once again. But let me ponder over your problem tonight. Come and visit me tomorrow afternoon and I will have a solution for you.’Reassured, the giraffe and the rhino happily left to go home. Since the journey was so long, the two friends were dead beat when they reached home. Before saying goodnight, the giraffe reminded the rhino that they had to leave very early the following day. The tired rhino, who had found some dinner on the way back, mumbled drowsily, ‘Okay,’ and went straight to sleep.At the crack of dawn, the giraffe woke up and went to call the rhino. But his friend was still deep in his slumber. He called his name several dozen times, poked the rhino with a stick and threw some pebbles at him—but to no avail. The rhino did not even budge.Worried about how late he was getting, the giraffe decided to get a move on without his friend. After all, he could always return and share whatever the sangoma suggested with the rhino. So he walked all the way to the sangoma’s hut and waited outside.When the wise one called out to him, the giraffe went in again with bowed head. The sangoma was brewing a magic herbal concoction in her kitchen. She asked, ‘Where is your friend, the rhino?’The giraffe answered, ‘He didn’t wake up on time to come here.’The sangoma poured out a glass and pushed it towards the giraffe. She then asked him to follow her out of her hut. The giraffe first smelled the warm concoction. She whispered something in his ears. He looked skywards and quickly gulped it down.Suddenly, he felt his neck being pulled upwards. In fact, it was not only his neck—his entire body began stretching out towards the sky. The wise one, who had been as tall as him earlier, only came up to his shins. And the sangoma’s hut was so minuscule that the giant-like giraffe could not put one leg into it.But all the treetops were now within his reach. He could stretch his neck out and eat all the fresh leaves on top of the trees without any trouble. He couldn’t wait to get home and show off his neck to his best friend!When he went home, he saw the rhino lazing about after his meagre dinner. The rhino sat up in shock when he saw the giraffe’s long neck and the ease with which he could pick the greenest leaves for all his meals. His surprise quickly transformed into a rage when he realised that the Giraffe had not brought back any magic concoction for him. He was left to fend for himself.And that is why, to this day, the giraffe has a long neck, and the rhino is always stomping about furiously.