The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me opens with narrator Billy longing to own a candy store. An old, abandoned sweets shop, The Grubber, has a sign in the window—“for sail”—and Billy dreams of managing it. One day, the sign is replaced with a new one: “soled.”

Billy stands across the street, regretting that The Grubber isn’t his. Suddenly, from upstairs, a large bathtub flies out a window and crashes onto the street. It’s followed by a toilet, sink, bed, bird cage, sewing machine, floorboards, and banisters. Billy calls out, asking if anyone’s home, but no one answers.

The next day, Billy returns to find a new, tall door installed at The Grubber. On the window is a sign that describes a window-washing company. A high window opens, and out peers the head of a giraffe. Another window opens, and a large pelican hops onto the sill and sings: “Oh, how I wish / For a big fat fish! / I’m as hungry as ever could be! / A dish of fish is my only wish! / How far are we from the sea?” (15-16). Billy answers that they’re fairly far from the ocean, but there’s a fish monger nearby.