Etwas the Elf

Etwas the Elf
Our heroine, photo by Maia Ycot

Friday, November 18, 2011

The elf and the ambitious hippo

Once upon a time, Etwas the elf was running through the forests of grass, under the canopies of clover and around the stems of tall flowers when she came to the edge of Vatnajökull.  She looked to her left and to her right and when she saw that nobody was watching, she opened the little door in the glacier's side that only the hidden people knew about.

Once inside, she carefully closed the portal so that the hinges didn't squeak and the edges were invisible.  Then she took the stairs to the slide and the slide down to the underground rainforest.  She was just curious if anything was going on.

"A-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo!" she heard and turned.  The light of the underground fireflies, reflecting off the glimmer crystals revealed a hippopotamus with its back heels in a steamy water pond and its front paws on the edge.

"Howdy, Mr. Hippo!"

"Hey, Etwas," came the low reply.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Trying to fly.  A-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo!"  The hippo made his noise by pursing his big lips and blowing.  Etwas realized it was the sound of an engine turning over but not quite firing on every cylinder.  "I have to get the balance right."

"The balance?"

"Yeah, on land I am too heavy.  The water makes me bouyant, but it's no good for aerodynamics, being surrounded in water."  He set down his ponderous hind part until the water came just below his tail. "I'm pretty sure if I can just get the right amount of me in the air and the right amount in the water, that I can fly.  A-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo!  Rats!"

"Well, where would you fly to, Mr. Hippo?"

"Actually, Etwas," the hippo blushed as his deep voice masked the tiny splashes in the water, "I was thinking of coming to see you.  I thought we'd play hide-and-go-seek in the grass."

"But I'm right here!" Etwas callled in triumph as she gave his tail an underwater yank.

And ever since then, Etwas never stands in front of a flying hippopotamus, and neither should you.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah daddy is coming!


    also, I though teh beginning reminded me of "Ice Age" and the flatulent hippo of "LION KING". GOD, I hope Emma will love Disney films, so i have a reason to see them all again :)

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