Tag in the Savanna

On a wide African clearing, where the tall grass swayed in the gentle breeze, three little animals were happily playing. They were a little elephant named Tutu, a giraffe named Nubi, and an antelope named Kiko. They had been eagerly looking forward to playing tag since early morning. After all, what could be more fun than running around with friends, forgetting about all worries?

The day was sunny, and rays of sunlight fell in golden stripes on the grass. Tutu looked around the clearing with delight. "How nice that we have such a big playground for our game!" he thought, warming up before starting to run.

“Who’s going to be ‘it’?” Tutu asked, wiggling his trunk playfully.

“Let me be it!” Kiko suggested joyfully, his little horns gleaming in the sunlight. The antelope was the fastest of his friends and loved being chased. Nubi and Tutu nodded in agreement.

And so the game began. Kiko, clicking his hooves, quickly disappeared into the grass, trying to evade his friends. Nubi and Tutu ran after him, laughing loudly and racing each other. The little elephant thumped along, waving his trunk, while the giraffe, tall and gangly, bent his head down to be closer to his friends.

“Catch me if you can!” Kiko teased, darting away, his light steps leaving hardly any trace in the grass. Tutu tried to speed up, but his big feet seemed to sink into the grass.

After a few minutes of swift movements and joyful calls, Kiko finally let Tutu catch up and tag him.

“Aha! Got you! Now you’re it, Kiko!” Tutu shouted happily, hopping up and down in excitement.

Kiko, with a slightly guilty smile, patted Tutu on the back. “Yes, I’m it now, but only because you were faster!”

Nubi smiled too, tapping his friend with a hoof, saying, “See, in a fair game, it doesn’t matter who wins. What matters is having fun!”

The game continued, and now it was Kiko’s turn to chase his friends. He dashed so quickly that they barely had time to dodge his swift moves. When he finally tagged Nubi, the giraffe accepted his turn with a smile, which brought laughter and joy all around. "How wonderful it is to play with friends who can celebrate each other’s successes and follow the rules," thought Kiko.

As the sun started to set, the animals, tired but happy, lay down in the shade of a big tree, reminiscing about the fun they had that day.

“Now we’re a real team, and our game of tag was so much fun!” Tutu smiled, wrapping his friends in a warm trunk hug.

Kiko and Nubi agreed wholeheartedly. They realized that in any game, what mattered most was joy, friendship, and respect for each other.

As they headed home, they knew that tomorrow would bring new adventures and games, but this time—with even more care and respect for each other.

And so ended the story of the importance of friendship, honesty, and the joy of playing together. And the next day, the sunny African clearing awaited them once more for another round of joyful tag.