The Giraffe Who Liked Feeling Sorry for Himself

Some people enjoy feeling sorry for themselves and like to think that nobody cares for them. So they sit alone at home and have fun feeling miserable. But the world loves them more than they think. The giraffe hero of Gadi Taub`s charming story will find this out on his birthday. Obviously, he`s not ordinary. He’s different from all the other village animals because he likes to feel sorry for himself. He doesn’t fix the fan or the tap in his house, and he only eats stale bread so as not to enjoy his food. He also takes his temperature every morning, hoping he’ll be sick. And he never goes to parties.

And then it’s his birthday – a wonderful chance to feel sorry for himself. No one is going to remember my birthday, thinks the giraffe. Poor me. But he doesn’t know that the whole village is planning a big party and has invited everyone… except the birthday boy himself. Because his friend the panther doesn’t want to cheat him of this chance to feel sorry for himself.

Evening comes, and the giraffe feels so lonely that he goes and watches the party from a distance. Suddenly, he feels so sad, it isn’t fun at all. Then the panther comes over and tells him that the birthday party is for him. From that day on, the giraffe changes and when he is invited to a meal or a party or a game of cards, he’s happy to go. Only once in a while, he still enjoys feeling sorry for himself.