Once upon a time, a wealthy giraffe was unfortunately lazy and hated work.

One day, the mother giraffe called to the father giraffe and complained to him about their lazy daughter. She told him that if they didn’t do something, she would get used to laziness and would never work, which would be bad for her.

“Yes you are right my dear wife, what should we do?” asked the father.

The mother asked him to talk to their daughter and make her understand that what she was doing was wrong, but the father refused for fear of becoming impatient and loosing his temper with her. “This is your job dear,” he insisted.

The mother called to her daughter and told her that now that she was a mature young giraffe, she should be working. She told her that she should find something to do in order to get used to work, but the daughter wanted to go to the park and observe the beautiful landscapes instead. “I promise you I will think of a job for myself,” said the daughter.

“Okay, go now, but don’t stay long,” replied the mother.

The lazy giraffe went to the park and saw a red bird. She greeted him and said “Don’t you have any work to do? Eating hazelnuts all the time, is that all you think of ?”

The bird explained to the giraffe that he was collecting food for himself and for his family and that he never stopped working because he had a big family.

The giraffe left the bird and started to talk to herself “What an active bird.”

After that, she heard the sound of a bee. She called to her and asked her if she had any work. The bee told her that she had plenty of work: She flew from one flower to another collecting nectar to extract delicious food for her baby bees, as well as for people. The giraffe asked about the food that the bee extracted. The bee told her that it was honey. “Excuse me dear, I should continue my work now. I am very busy,” she added.

The giraffe said to herself “How active this bee is! She is such a great worker.”

Then she heard a voice calling to her. It was an ant who was passing on its way below the giraffe. The giraffe looked at the heavy burden the ant was holding. “Leave your burden now and come play with me,” said the giraffe. The ant refused to play and told the giraffe that she was very happy to get the food she held no matter how hard and tiring her work was. “I don’t have time to play,” she added.

“That’s really strange! Ants usually like to play,” replied the giraffe.

At that moment, the ant told her that a bad man had stepped on her house and ruined it and that she and her family felt miserable now, but they had decided not to give up and to look for another secure shelter. “Forgive me for declining your invitation to play, for I have plenty of work to do,” she added.

The giraffe said to herself “What an ant! All the creatures I encountered today were very busy working - the red bird, the bee, and the ant. All of them work except me, the pretty giraffe. I don’t work at anything!”

After that, the giraffe saw a flower. She asked her if she worked.

“Yes, of course I do. In the morning I accumulate the sunrays and keep them in my leaves. My roots extend into the earth seeking nutrients and water. Each part of me works, dear giraffe.” said the flower.

The giraffe replied “Then why don’t I work?”

“Why are you asking? Just go and work now,” said the flower.

The giraffe came back home and told her parents that she now realized the importance of work. “I am sorry about my laziness in the past. Now I am ready to do any work you ask me to do,” she added.

The parents were very happy to hear this.

“Come my dear daughter and help with arranging the house and cooking,” said the mother.

The daughter replied “Okay mom. I am ready and will always be.”