Week 7 Story: Why Hippopotami Live in Water
The hippopotamus is a magical creature, second only to the elephant in the animal kingdom, for he is large, commanding, and wise. The greatest hippopotamus of all was named Isantim. Because of his hierarchal standing, the hippopotamus used to hold feasts for every beast in the kingdom. Giraffes, turtles, and even lions came to these feasts, eager to get their fill of free food and drink.
But for all his power, no one in the kingdom, save his family members, knew the hippopotamus's name—Isantim knew this. Before one feast, Isantim uncharacteristically gave a speech before breaking bread.
"Welcome, animal friend," he began. "I see that all of you have, once again, decided to join my family and myself for a communal meal. For this, I am grateful, but one thing I am not so thankful for is your lack of gratitude, for none of you even bothered to learn my name. So, this is the last feast we shall share until one of you cares enough to truly befriend my family and me."
Most of the animals in the room were afraid to become friends with the hippopotami because of their size and status, so they finished their food and left, resigned to the fact that they may never experience such a banquet again.
One brave turtle, however, was determined to fulfill the hippopotamus's wish. The turtle was not afraid of him, because she used the same river for bathing as the hippopotamus family did, and was, therefore, near them nearly every day.
The next day, the turtle, unlike any animal before her, decided to speak to the hippopotami as they were bathing next to her in the river.
"Good day, great hippopotami," said the turtle, "my name is Ambo, and I would like to become your friend."
The hippopotamus and his family were shocked, for the last creature they expected to rise to the challenge was a turtle, because of her small size. Impressed by her bravery, however, the hippopotami began to talk to Ambo, learning about her and, in turn, telling Ambo about themselves. These interactions lasted for several weeks, each day with the animals understanding more about each other's similarities and differences.
Finally, at the end of a month of comradery, the great hippopotamus took Ambo aside and told her, "You have been brave, little one, and you have proven your friendship. For that, I must tell you my name. It is Isantim. You and all your friends will be welcome at my feasts from now on. I wish to hold them in the river henceforth, to commemorate the place in which the turtle and the hippo became companions. I hope all animals can learn from us and become greater friends because of this lesson."
Author's Note: This story is a spinoff of "The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise"/"Why the Hippopotamus Lives in the Water." As with my retelling, the original tale features a hippo whose name is unknown to everyone and holds feasts for the animal kingdom. Unlike in my story, a tortoise tricks a hippo into saying Isantim's name, and the hippos banish themselves to the river as part of an agreement they struck. I just changed this aspect of the story to make it a bit happier and lighter.
Bibliography: Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria, collected by Elphinstone Dayrell
Hey Katie, I like your story and how you made it more light hearted than the original. It's interesting to me that you had it that the hippopotamus let everyone come back to the feasts after only one animal learned its name. Also, have you seen those pictures of like how they would reconstruct a hippo if its was dinosaur? It's kind of unsettling, but shows how much we don't know about what dinosaurs looked like.
ReplyDeleteHi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this story. It's rude of the animals to be freeloading off the hippo. I'm glad you made the turtle befriend the hippo instead of tricking him though. I feel like that is a nicer touch. I never read the original story, but the way you wrote yours in the beginning made me sympathize with the hippo and so it was nice to see things go his way in the end. Good job!
Katie,
ReplyDeleteAw! This was a really cute story. I was fun to read, and I'm glad all the animals were able to join together at the end. I wonder if the hippo was lonely at the beginning of the story? Maybe he just wanted to make friends with the other animals, but they were scared of him. Hippos are a bit intimidating ( I think they are super dangerous...) but at least in your story, they have a soft side! Good work!