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The sun was hot that
summer’s day;
No rain, no clouds, no sign of gray.
Four hippos sank deep in the mud,
With a plop, a splash, a splat and a thud.
The water soon began to dry
As the sun moved across the morning sky.
By afternoon the mud baked hard,
Trapping the hippos who’d let down their guard.
“We can’t get out! Help us please!”
One hippo shouted, another sneezed.
“We’re stuck! We’re stuck! What can we do?
Rescue us from this hardened brown goo!”
An elephant came wandering by.
“Pull us out,” a hippo let out a cry.
The beast used his trunk and pulled so hard.
“I can’t pull you out! You’re as heavy as lard.”
Off it went; the hippos wiggled around.
They spotted a snake slithering across the ground.
“Help us snake! We’re stuck and can’t move.”
The snake kept on going down a deep dirt groove.
The hippos wriggled and shook to each side.
A flamingo flew past in a very smooth glide.
It laughed when it saw four heads poking out,
Trapped in the hardened mud, each wearing a pout.
They soon gave up and accepted their fate,
To be stuck in the mud all day till quite late,
But then something happened; clouds passed above;
Raindrops fell on the leopards, ants and dove.
Soon the mud grew soft and the hippos were free.
They danced all around shouting, “Yahoo! Yippee!”
“Let’s head for the river!” They ran and jumped in,
Scraped off the mud with a piece of old tin.
“This is better,” one said and lay on his back;
“Bathing’s quite fun once you’ve got the knack.”
From then on the hippos, one, two, three and four,
Never soaked in the mud when the temperatures soared. |
