“Giraffes”

The little girl was on a leash, but she was clearly calling the shots. Her screaming and crying had all heads turned toward her mother, who was looking down in embarrassment. It had been a long day of fun and amusement at the zoo.

About twenty minutes after they left—ice cream dripping down the little girl’s chin, cotton candy covering her hands—the giraffes escaped their pen. It’s unclear how this happened, but the zoo management believed the handler became disgruntled and opened the gate for them before disappearing himself, never to be seen again.

The mother could hear the sirens coming from behind them. She looked back in time to yank her daughter out of the way of the four giraffes running through the street. Pedestrians were pointing and gawking, and the little girl fell immediately in love with the creatures. She pointed at them, pulling her mother along. The mother was so worn out that she just stumbled along for a while before she could get a better hold of the leash.

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