May 1 - Save the Rhino Day

Reginald was an angry rhinoceros.  

No one knew why he was angry.  He just was.  

Some rhinos are like that.  

Some people are like that too.

Reginald’s anger and generally bad mood 

quickly spread to all of the animals 

in the woodlands, marshes, grasslands, 

savannas, mud wallows, and shade trees. 

Reginald, who would rather go by “Redge,” 

thank you, was constantly angered by the 

tiniest thing.

Redge was a vegetarian.  

He never ate meat.  

He only ate leaves, buds and 

shoots of plants, bushes and trees.  He was especially fond of Acacia tree leaves. 

One day Redge was having lunch at Jasmine the Jackal’s place.  

They were laughing and having a good time until she brought in a plate of spaghetti … 

and MEAT balls!  This made Redge angry at Jasmine because she 

should have remembered that he never ate meat.

He stomped and snorted and pouted and screamed; he screeched and squealed 

and yawped!  “Everyone knows Jackals don’t think of anyone but themselves!  

Bellowing tick birds, Jasmine!”  and charged out the door. 

Jasmine was stunned at his language and cried for two hours.

Later that day, Redge was drinking water at a nearby stream when he heard banjo music.

“That can’t be good,” he said.  Coming toward him on a bicycle was Quentin, 

a vervet monkey, riding hands-free and playing a banjo. “Hey Redge!”  he waved.

Redge tried to be nice.  “Do you want one of my jam sandwiches?”  “Sure!” Quentin said.

  He couldn’t believe Redge was being so pleasant.  

They sat by the stream and the monkey talked and talked and talked. 

“Thanks for the sandwich!”  Quentin said before tossed his banjo over his shoulders 

and got back on his bicycle.  But as he was about to ride off, Redge thought he saw several 

of the jam sandwiches in Quentin’s basket.  This made him mad.

Redge stomped and snorted and pouted and screamed; he screeched and squealed 

and yawped!  “Everyone knows vervet monkeys steal things!  

Sweaty, hairless hippos, Quentin!”  and charged away. 

Quentin was hurt by his Redge’s words … and he rode home very sad.

Redge went to his favourite Acacia tree to sit under it, chew on its leaves, and pout … 

but when he arrived, he was surprised to see two giraffes had already eaten 

almost all of his leaves!  This made Redge really mad. 

He stomped and snorted and pouted and screamed; he screeched and squealed 

and yawped! “Everyone knows giraffes are stupid and don’t take baths!  

Hump muzzled wildebeests!”  and charged away.

The giraffes were shocked at his language, but went back to chewing their leaves.

Redge was walking and pouting when he smelled something terrible.  

Then he looked around.  He had walked right into a pack of hyenas.

As he slowly backed away he backed right into a very odd looking hyena with a frying pan

 on his head. “Ow!”  said the hyena.  “You stepped on my foot!”   Redge was scared.

But the hyena only stuck out a paw and laughed. “That’s all right, friend.  Call me Hershey.” 

 Redge gingerly shook his paw.  “I didn’t catch your name, chum,” asked Hershey. 

 Redge took a deep breath.  “My name is … is … Reginald.”  There was silence. 

 A long silence.

Then one hyena started to giggle. 

And another. 

And another. 

And forty-two.  “Reginald!”  “That’s brilliant!”  “It’s fantastic!”  “What a funny name for a rhino!” 

The hyenas laugh was so contagious that Hershey, who was trying to contain himself, 

burst out into an uncontrollable laugh.  And Redge got angry.  Very angry. 

Redge stomped and snorted and pouted and screamed; he screeched and squealed and 

yawped!  But the hyenas laughed harder.  “Oh my,” said Redge, “It IS a funny name…”

Yes, he stomped and snorted and pouted and screamed; 
he screeched and squealed and yawped!  Thinking he was putting on a show, 
the hyenas laughed even harder than before.

So he stomped and snorted and pouted and screamed; he screeched and squealed and  …   and …

    … giggled.  The hyenas’ cackles were so funny that Redge just could not stop his own 

laughter. 

Hershey finally caught his breath, “I’m sorry, Redge.  “We’re hyenas.  It’s what we do.  

Laughter is an instant vacation!  When you laugh, everyone is cheerful and relaxed.  

It makes you think a lot less of your problems … and it sure feels better than being mad.”  

Redge couldn’t believe it.  It DID feel better!  So instead …

He chuckled and giggled and snickered and hooted and chortled and gasped and wheezed!   

Then Hershey chuckled and giggled and snickered and hooted and chortled and 

gasped and wheezed!

Redge and the hyenas laughed on into the night and well into the next morning.  

Once Redge laughed so hard he fell down and rolled on his back and almost 

squashed poor Hershey, who had never seen a rhino laugh that much … 

which made him laugh even harder. 

They passed Quentin the Vervet Monkey, who was up in his tree, sadly playing his banjo.  

Then Redge noticed that what he saw in Quentin’s basket were not sandwiches at all, 

but blocks of Quentin’s favourite cheese! So he apologized, left all of his 

jam sandwiches with Quentin’s family, and decided he needed to get his eyes checked.

When they passed the grazing giraffes, they shared some leaves from the Acacia tree.

Even Jasmine the Jackal couldn’t help her laughter when Redge showed up 

at her door offering her a bouquet of Acacia leaves with a hyena on his shoulders! 

Reginald’s new laughter and generally good mood quickly spread to all 

of the animals in the woodlands, marshes, grasslands, savannas, mud wallows, 

and shade trees.

Reginald was a happy rhino.  No one knew why he was happy; he just was.  
Some rhinos are like that.  Especially Reginald.  Some people are like that too.