In Which a Giraffe's Broken Heart Is Mended

Last week, the Crittergators adventured into the pages of a book. The next day, they were joined in a later chapter by several more friends. However, the story then took a darker turn.

One of the make-believe creatures suddenly jumped OUT of the pages of the book and attacked the orange giraffe, throwing it onto the ground and breaking it into two. Beware of books, people; not all of them are full of "nice" creatures and stories.

We quickly glued the little giraffe back together, and it has been recuperating under the watchful eyes of the Crittergators and Tiny Tiger and friends since then.

This was the scene on Sunday afternoon. The giraffe found particular comfort and healing powers in the silver dragonfly amulet worn by Tiny Tiger. (Is there magic there? Who can know?)

You may look at this photo and say - But nobody LOOKS broken. I would reply to you - We are ALL broken. Some of us just don't show it as much on the outside.

For instance, if you take a really close look at the Crittergators, three of the four are broken or missing body parts. The big green fella on the right broke in half, and was glued back together, after a tragic fall from atop a huge strawberry.

The other green fella on the left is missing a portion of its arm, its leg, and one eye. The one red-shirt is missing an antenna - I think that was from the time it tried to ride an owl inside the Glass House at Childhood's Gate. . . . Even Tiny Tiger has lost an eye and had it sewn back on.

The bottom line is that if you live a life of grand adventure, you must be prepared to deal with the consequences. We do not have any stunt doubles here, so all of our critters must be of hardy stock. And of course, we travel with glue in the side pocket of the camera bag, just in case! :-)

The soundtrack: the Bee Gees, with How Do You Mend a Broken Heart.