Geraldine the Giraffe

Geraldine the giraffe was very long,
And her spindly neck was awfully strong -
So much so that a gazelle came along,
Seeking assistance with a game of ping-pong.
You see, gazelles are very fond
Of playing sports in order to bond;
Table tennis was a favourite of theirs
But alas of balls they had no spares.
A tiger who went by the name of Keith
Had seen the ball and thought "Good grief!
That simply looks like the perfect meal
I'll bet it's tastier than this boring veal".
So he pilfered the ball in the middle of night,
Not wishing to induce any anger or fright,
And stored it atop the highest tree,
Not thinking of how he would set it free.
He returned the next day, grinning with joy,
As he prepared to savour his brand new toy.
But when he tried to climb the tall tree,
He slipped of a branch and injured his knee.
"Oh no! Oh dear! Whatever will I do?"
He roared in frustration since already he knew
The gazelles would soon be coming this way,
And without his knee he couldn't move them away.
Sure enough, the gazelles soon arrived,
With Geraldine in tow, looking slightly surprised.
"Ah, gazelles, I'm so glad you're here!"
The tiger said, grinning ear to ear.
"I'm having a little spot of bother right now,
So I wonder if you could, somehow,
Retrieve that ball on the top of that tree,
And maybe give it as a present to me?"
The gazelles almost immediately agreed,
Since they had a plan they knew would succeed.
So Geraldine wound her neck round the trunk,
And pulled and pulled until suddenly a chunk
Of bark flew off, hit the tiger in the head -
He cried his eyes out and off he fled.
She pulled the tree harder with a mighty heave,
Then released it and watched in disbelief,
As the ping-pong ball flew up in the air,
Then fell and landed on a gazelle named Pierre.
The gazelles had a fabulous party that night,
And the quality of ping-pong was quite a sight.
Their hero, of course, was Geraldine,
Despite her disdain at their grassy cuisine.
They never saw the tiger again
(He travelled to Hawaii and went slightly insane).