Magical Animals at Bedtime by Lou Keunzler

Author:Lou Keunzler
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Magical Animals at Bedtime
ISBN: 9781780285139
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2013-08-17T04:00:00+00:00

The Acacia Tree Friends

Relax, close your eyes and imagine it’s the end of a long, hot day in Africa. The sun is setting and the trees cast shadows on the ground. This is the story of a little cheetah cub who only liked to play games that she could win. Let’s listen to her story.

In the cool evening, Cheetah came bounding up to the old acacia tree where she always met her friends.

“Hello,” she called to the baby monkey who was hanging upside down in the branches. “Where’s Snake?”

“Boo!” said little Snake, popping out from a pile of leaves.

“Argh!” Monkey toppled backwards off his branch. “You gave me a fright!” he cried.

“I was hiding!” grinned Snake, flicking her tongue.

“Well, stop hiding and come and race!” said Cheetah. “I’m so fast. You know I’ll win!”

“We race every day!” sighed Snake.

“Let’s tell jokes instead,” giggled Monkey.

“No,” said Cheetah. “I want to race... ready, steady, go!” Before the others could stop her, Cheetah charged off.

“First one to the water hole wins!” she yelled.

“That’s not fair!” shouted Monkey, bounding after her.

“We weren’t even ready,” complained Snake.

No matter how fast Snake slithered or how quickly Monkey ran, they could never catch up with Cheetah.

“I’m the fastest animal ever!” she boasted. They raced all evening and Cheetah always won.

“Let’s do something different tomorrow,” suggested Snake. “I don’t want to race all the time.”

“Racing is best!” declared Cheetah. “See you tomorrow!”

But the next day her friends were nowhere to be found.

“Monkey?” she called. “Snake?”

There was no answer. Cheetah looked everywhere and was about to give up when Monkey giggled above her head.

“What are you doing?” Cheetah called.

“Playing hide-and-seek,” chuckled Monkey high up in the branches. “Now we have to find Snake.”

Finally, they spotted Snake curled around the tree trunk. Her speckled skin looked just like bark.

“Found you!” cried Cheetah. “That was fun. But I still like racing best.”

“That’s because you always win,” explained Snake. “Sometimes it’s good to do things other people enjoy.”

“I’m sorry,” said Cheetah. “I’ll play your game.”

The three friends played hide-and-seek all evening. Snake was best but Cheetah was pretty good, too. Her spots made perfect camouflage in the long grass.

“And now for a joke,” grinned Monkey. “Why should you never play cards in the jungle?”

“Why?” asked the others.

“There are too many cheetahs!” laughed Monkey.

Everyone groaned. But they listened to his jokes whenever they met at the acacia tree ... and they played hide-and-seek ... and had running races, too. After all, they were the very best of friends.

Inspiring Insights

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