Rafi and Rita

Rafi and Rita are twin giraffes: they like the same things and do the same things. They are exactly the same in every way, or are they? Rafi suddenly claims that he is the tallest, but immediately after, Rita makes a similar claim about herself. Readers meanwhile will have noticed a difference in their markings: Rafi’s are circles, while his twin’s are pentagons.

Both twins support their claim with boasts: ‘I’m so tall those animals down there look like bugs,’ Rafi says. ‘They are bugs,’ Rita responds. After this the boasts become increasingly ridiculous. ‘I’m so tall that when an artist tried to do a portrait of me, they ran out of paint,’ Rafi claims. Rita counters this with, ‘I’m so tall that when my hat fell off, it took three hours to hit the ground.’ 

‘I wear clouds as hats,…’ Rafi says, immediately followed by Rita’s, ‘I’m so tall I wear a rainbow as a scarf.’ This bragging contest continues all day right up until nightfall when it’s finally interrupted by Mama Giraffe coming to put them to bed. Her ‘Rafi! Rita! Little ones!’ is not appreciated by the twins, who immediately deny her comment.  Mama giraffe’s next words are, one expects, highly likely to start yet another session of sibling rivalry, albeit under cover of darkness this time. 

Having heard the story, with its hilarious verbal wrangling, and enjoyed Chris Judge’s splendidly expressive scenes, young listeners could have lots of fun in pairs, inventing their own Rafi versus Rita claims.