Baby Giraffe: How Abbey kept a secret

The Desert Sun thought it had landed a pretty big story today. The Living Desert, the nature and animal preserve where Abbey has volunteered for the past three years, reported a baby giraffe had been born last week. We posted it immediately on our Web site -- www.mydesert.com -- and I excitedly called my Simba to tell her the news.

"She's going to be so happy that I'm breaking the story," I thought to myself.

Here's the exchange...and further proof that Mufasa isn't always the smartest lion in the jungle:

Excited Dad: "Hey, guess what? The Living Desert has a new giraffe! A baby was born there last week. Isn't that cool?"

Sheepish Daughter: "Um, you're just finding that out?"

Puzzled Dad: "Huh? Did you hear about it earlier today?"

Self-assured Daughter: "Um, no. Well, actually, I heard about it last week right after he was born. Our volunteer adviser told us, but I had to promise not to tell anyone -- especially you. The zoo wanted to make a big deal out of it."

Angry Dad: "You mean, you had a story and you didn't tell me about it?"

I-don't-give-a-damn-how-angry-you-are-Dad Daughter: "Yes, that's right. I was sworn to secrecy. I promised I wouldn't tell. You can't make all of your sources tell you stuff before they want to, Dad. And make sure you point out it's a Reticulated giraffe and not a Masai giraffe."

Humbled Dad: "Um, OK, Abbey. We'll check that. And maybe next time, you can give me the scoop..."

For the record, it is indeed a Reticulated giraffe. Here's a picture of Abbey's newest long-necked pal at the Living Desert. Look for pictures of her feeding it, bathing it, talking to it... whatever she does there...coming to this blog soon.

And seriously: She's my Earth Day baby who's going to save the world, even if it's one giraffe at a time....