Miles was always loved the animals he saw in the zoo. He had books on the

animals of the jungles of the Amazon, Africa and Asia. He wore tee-shirts with

his favorite animals on them. Miles had models of the animals he saw in the zoo.

He even had his own model zoo! He had stuffed animals of monkeys, zebras,

hippopotamuses, but his favorite was the giraffe. He visited the giraffes in the

zoo every time he went. Miles even asked the zookeeper about the giraffes. Miles

had lots of books and magazines on giraffes and he learned a lot about them. He

knew what they ate, how the slept, where they lived, how long they lived and

what they liked. He always dreamed about caring for giraffes.

One evening one of Miles’ teeth came out. He showed the tooth to his parents and

they told him to place it under his pillow that night before he went to sleep

and make a wish. His mother told him that there would be a surprise the next

morning for him. So he rushed to get ready for bed, placed the tooth carefully

under his pillow and made a wish. He wished for a pet giraffe. Soon Miles was

fast asleep.

The next morning, Miles woke up. It was time to get ready for school. He quickly

looked under his pillow and saw a shiny silver dollar where he had placed his

tooth. Then he noticed a shadow pass by his bedroom window. He wondered what was

that? The wind was not blowing and there were no trees near his window! Miles

went to his window and opened the curtains and what did he see? It was a young

giraffe looking straight at him through the window! Miles could not believe what

he saw. His wish came true! He opened the window and the giraffe stuck his head

into Miles room and licked his face clean. Miles decided he would name his new

friend Twiga, the Swahili name for giraffe.

Miles hurried to get ready for school. He washed his face, brushed his teeth and

dressed for school. He rushed downstairs for breakfast with his parents. Miles’

mother greeted him good morning and served his breakfast. She asked him if he

received his gift for his tooth under his pillow. He had almost forgotten about

that gift and said yes he had. His father asked him what were his plans for his

gift and Miles told his parents he had not thought about it yet. Twiga was

looking into the kitchen window at Miles, but Miles’ parents could not see him.

He asked if he could be excused from breakfast to arrive at school early for a

new project. His parents agreed and wished him well for the day. Miles hurried

out the back door into the backyard and found Twiga standing near the door

waiting for him. Miles gave Twiga a hug and walked him to a grove of trees in

the far corner of the backyard for breakfast. Miles said goodbye to Twiga and

promised to return to him after school. Miles started to leave the yard and meet

with his friends to walk to school. His friends Randy and Jessica met him at the

gate. They came face to face with Twiga at the fence. They asked Miles how did

he get a giraffe in his backyard? He explained about losing his tooth and

placing it under his pillow after making a wish and finding Twiga at his window

this morning.He also told them that he doesn’t think his parents can see Twiga.

Miles reminded them that it they must leave now to get to school on time. They

began to walk down the sidewalk when Jessica noticed that Twiga was following

them. Miles tried to get Twiga to stay at home, but Twiga still followed him.

They noticed that the neighbors that were rushing to work did not see Twiga.

They passed by as though he was not there. When they left the neighborhood and

walked closer to town, they noticed that the old ladies and old men sitting on

the benches waiting for the bus could see Twiga and they would point and wave.

Miles, Randy, and Jessica finally arrived at school. All of the students stopped

and ran to get a closer look at Twiga. They welcomed him and pet him. The bell

rang and Mrs. Butler, the principal, shouted for all of the students to stop

standing in their groups and get to class before she places the whole school in

detention. She obviously could not see Twiga because she didn’t say anything

about him being there and she usually doesn’t miss thing. It looked like none of

the teachers were able to see Twiga. Twiga was too tall to come inside the

school, so he stayed on the playground eating leaves on the trees. He would

occasionally peep into the window of Miles’ classroom to see what he was doing.

Soon it was lunchtime and Miles, Randy, and Jessica met outside at the picnic

bench to eat lunch with Twiga. Soon more of the classmates came over to feed,

pet, and play with Twiga. All of the students enjoyed their time with Twiga,but

the teachers did not notice anything different. Lunchtime was over and the

students returned to their classes and Twiga returned to eating tree leaves and

twigs. It was three o’clock, the school bell rang time to go home. All of the

students rushed out of the school building. It was Friday and the weekend was

starting. Everyone could not wait to get home. Miles looked for Twiga. He did

not have to look far. Twiga was walking toward him with Jessica, Randy and a few

other classmates hanging on to Twiga’s legs as he walked. They decided to take

the long way home through the park. The children and Twiga enjoyed their time in

the park. The children played on the swings, the slides, the merry-go-round and

other play equipment and climbed on Twiga. Twiga enjoyed everybody at the park.

He even kissed a grandmother and grandfather sitting on a bench tending to their

grandchild in a stroller. They rubbed his nose and head as a thank you for the

kiss. It was now time to go home for dinner. Randy and Jessica were asking

Miles if he would allow Twiga to spend the night at their houses later during

the month. Miles said he would let them know after he had spent more time with

Twiga. They were soon at Miles’ house. Randy and Jessica said goodbye to Miles

and Twiga and went home. Miles walked Twiga into the backyard and closed the

gate. He asked Twiga not to leave the yard without him and Twiga nodded his head

as if he understood. Miles walked into the backdoor of the house. He could smell

the wonderful dinner his mother had cooked. Miles’ mother announced that dinner

was ready and instructed her husband and Miles to wash up for dinner. When they

all sat down to eat, Miles’ mother asked him if he had an interesting day and

Miles told her it was a very very interesting day. No need in telling his

parents more. So he left it like that!