Adventure Book:
What Wilhelmina Sees |
"What are you doing?" asked Uncle Dave. "I am imagining what would happen if I stuffed my giraffe, Wilhelmina, and she came to life and then I could see what she could see
browsing in the trees for dinner," answered Lily.
"Giraffes have very long legs and very long necks," said Uncle Dave. "That gives them a
different point of view."
"Now, if Wilhelmina the giraffe were out for a stroll and she happened to see something newsworthy, I could be perched in a strategic spot, follow her lead, and snap, snap... another prize winning shot for my editor."
"Why couldn't you interview her... ask her what she saw?"
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Lily looked up at Uncle Dave and, in a very superior tone, told him what she had read in her encyclopedia.
"Giraffes can't talk because their necks are too long."
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"“So, what I want to know is, what is a very observant giraffe likely to see as she forages for her lunch?”
“Well, she’s not likely to see an elephant or a wild pig up there.”
“You are not giving this your serious
consideration,” snapped Lily.
“All right, I will now be very serious,” said Uncle Dave.
But it wasn’t easy.
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“Did you know” said Uncle Dave, ”that giraffes are the lookouts for the other
creatures? They can see the lions as they move in to hunt for food. They can see if there is
any danger when the other giraffes stand with their legs in a split so they can take a drink.”
“And it’s very hard to run from that
position,” said Lily, “so everyone takes turns.”
“Everyone is looking at everyone else in the jungle, because you might just be somebody else’s dinner.”
Lily’s eyes got very large. “Are you being
serious now?” she asked. This time he was.
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“Hey, Wilhelmina, what do you see up there?” hollered Lily.
Wilhelmina peered down and motioned for Lily to join her. Lily climbed the tree and
whispered, “hmm, I believe we have a parrot bird here. You have lovely feathers, my dear.
A special occasion?”
“Absolutely! I’m going to the singing practice of the church choir.” She gave Lily and Wilhelmina a sampling of her voice. They winced and rolled their eyes.
“How lucky for them,” smiled Lily politely. “May I photograph you?”
“Well, if you must,” squawked Ms. Parrot.
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It wasn’t long until Wilhelmina signaled for Lily to look again. The parrot had joined several others of her kind, and they apparently were using one of the leafy branches for their choir rehearsal.
What a racket! What a picture!!
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Then, into the sight of Lily’s lens came a parade of ants. Hut, 2,3,4— eyes right. And she got them— snap, snap!
Wilhelmina followed them with her great brown eyes. The line went on and on and on... down the tree and over to the most enormous ant hill that Lily had ever seen. She skittered down the tree to get a closer look. Then she entered into her notebook: “Could take over the world.”
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Lily looked up at Wilhelmina once again and saw that she was munching on her leafy lunch. Lunch, thought Lily, and she remembered that she hadn’t had hers. So off she went to the kitchen, where the cook, who looked a great deal like her mother, was preparing a sandwich, which looked a lot like bologna.
“And what have you seen out on the veldt today?,” inquired the cook. “I noticed you up there in the tree with your giraffe friend. It looked like a productive shoot.”
“I saw parrots and ants, lots of them, tromp, tromp, tromping down to their hill. I think they may be plotting to take over the world.”
“I thought that myself this morning in the kitchen,” said the cook.
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“Ugh!” said Lily, and the cook agreed.
Lily headed toward the trees once more,
and found Wilhelmina listening to the chatter of a new friend, who was swinging from a branch, upside down. Lily smiled, and the
upside down friend smiled at her. There is
a certain resemblance, thought Lily.
“I wonder if I could do that,” said Lily,
and she climbed the tree to try. Lacking a
tail, she tried hanging by her knees. Snap, snap, went her camera. “What an angle!” said Lily.
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“Oh! oh!” said the monkey. “It’s the snake—just ahead!”
This got the attention of both Lily and Wilhelmina.
“Not that we don’t all like snakes, of course.” Wilhelmina nodded, but she passed
by the snake with considerable caution. The monkey grabbed a vine and swung over to the next branch.
“Keep snapping,” whispered Lily, and she took a few more pictures.
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Wilhelmina and Lily went to the pool to take a long drink. “This kind of work could make you
thirsty.”
“Don’t worry, Wilhelmina. I’ll look out for you,” said Lily. The other animals gathered
too, except for Daniel the lion, who was not particularly welcome. He was off by himself contemplating his next meal. Sam was still
wearing his very best striped shirt, and Effie Longnostril was standing in the middle of the pool spraying herself with trunkfuls of water.
What a picture, thought Lily, and she snapped it.
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| Written and illustrated by elinor peace bailey |
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