The year was 1654, and a group of Spanish explorers were on a 3 month trek deep in the Brazilian rainforest. They had come in search of precious stones such as diamonds and emeralds, and early one morning, despite of all the warnings, the Spanish began to dig.....!

For hundreds of years the local villagers had seen things - strange lights above the forest; flashes of coloured lightening and flying luminous shapes. There was something out there that was more fantastic, more magical than you could ever hope to imagine!

But no-one had ever ventured in there to find out.....

A few days into the dig, the Spanish first saw the signs of this phenomenon. With the forest clearing bathed in this strange swirling light, and perfectly choreographed to the sound of trumpets and harmonicas, something began to emerge ever so slowly from the shrubs.

It's tall outline silhouetted against the trees and making no sound whatsoever, it approached the Spanish who just stood there in absolute amazement. Transfixed by whet they were seeing, the shape then started to rotate at high velocity whilst different coloured lights rose out of the pointy thing atop its head.

Needless to say, the Spanish dropped their spades and ran...........

Thankfully the explorers made it out of the forest, and their account of what had happened helped produce the artist's impression below:

The above picture was circulated in newspapers and publications worldwide, and the group of Spanish explorers soon became extremely famous. A few years later a second expedition was planned - this time not one of precious stones but one of discovery!

..and what they found was amazing. They had discovered a giraffe so magical, so mysterious that it would change the world forever..... It was Bernard the magical giraffe!

Not long after his discovery, Bernard soon adapted to life in the new world. His magical powers proved astounding, and he soon demonstrated the following:

He was the first person to conquer the myth of alchemy. In two minutes, he had converted enough spinach into gold to support the whole world for 150 years.....

He produced the first talking goat.

Bernard now has several hobbies, including spanner collecting, sky diving and cookery. And he now also practices as a part-time DJ......

But deep down he'll always be magical!