An African Fable
How Hippo helped the tides
By
Salome Byleveldt
Copyright Salome Byleveldt 2014
Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
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Table of Contents:
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End Notes
Other Books by Salome Byleveldt
“Good morning!” Monkey knocked on Tortoise’s shell. Tortoise was still sleeping, so Monkey called again.
“Anybody home?” he asked as he knocked for a second time.
“Yes, of course I’m home, Monkey,” it came grumpily from inside Tortoise’s shell. “Where else would I be this early in the morning?” Tortoise said as he peeked out.
“I hope I didn’t wake you up, Tortoise,” said Monkey, but he didn’t wait for a response before he carried on. “I was having a chat with Terrapin when I went down to the river earlier this morning.” Tortoise gave a big yawn and waited for Monkey to continue.
“I believe that you guys are family?” Monkey asked, but again he didn’t give Tortoise a chance to respond before he continued. “Yes, Terrapin tells me that you are distant family!” When Tortoise didn’t answer him, Monkey asked: “Can you swim as well as Terrapin, Tortoise?” This time he waited for a response. But Tortoise gave another big yawn before he could reply.
“No, Monkey,” he said. “I can’t swim at all.”
“Really, Tortoise? You can’t swim at all?” Monkey was surprised.
“You wanted to tell me something about Terrapin?” Tortoise tried to change the subject.
“Yes, I almost got sidetracked there for a moment,” Monkey said. “Terrapin tells me that he has family in the sea!” Monkey shook his head in wonder. “Can you imagine having family in the sea?” But this was not news to Tortoise.
“But yes, of course!” said Tortoise. “There are a lot of turtles in the sea. But they are often much bigger than Terrapin.”
“Really, Tortoise?” asked Monkey.
“Yes, some of the turtles grow as big as half the size of Hippo,” Tortoise was now fully awake and very interested in what Monkey had to say. Monkey was so surprised that he almost got sidetracked again.
“Anyway,” he recovered, “Terrapin tells me that his family in the sea is in trouble!”
Just then Mouse stuck his head out of his burrow. Mouse had only heard the last word that Monkey had said.
“Trouble!?” screeched Mouse. “Who’s in trouble?” But he didn’t give Monkey a chance to respond.
“Who’s in trouble?” Mouse cried again. “Who’s in trouble?” Suddenly a circle of Animals stood around Monkey and Tortoise.
“What’s the trouble?” asked Hippo.
“Where’s the trouble?” asked Elephant.
“What can be done about the trouble?” asked Giraffe
There was a lot of noise as the Animals all wanted to know about this trouble that Monkey was talking about. The noise grew louder and louder. Lion had been sleeping under a tree, but the noise woke him up and he moved closer. He was still tired and he was really grumpy.
“Who is making trouble?” roared Lion and a hush fell over the Animals. They went quiet.
“Who is making trouble?” Lion roared into the silence. Then he saw Monkey standing in the middle of the circle of Animals.
“Monkey!” he roared. “Are you the one making trouble?”
~~***~~
“Monkey, are you the one making trouble?” Lion repeated. He stared at Monkey with his yellow eyes and Monkey shivered.
“N-no, no, Lion,” Monkey stammered, but Lion would have none of that.
“Speak up, Monkey” he ordered. “Tell us about this trouble!”
“Uh…” said Monkey. He had to take a deep breath before he could continue.
“It is Terrapin’s family that is in trouble, Lion,” Monkey said. Lion just frowned at him. He didn’t understand what the trouble could be with Terrapin’s family. “That’s the turtles, Lion. They live in the sea!” Monkey tried to clarify.
“Turtle’s that live in the sea?!” Lion exclaimed. “What are you talking about, Monkey?”
“Yes Sir, turtle’s that live in the sea!” Monkey was regaining some of his confidence. “They can grow very big!” Monkey bragged with his new knowledge. “Really, Lion, you can ask Tortoise about it as well,” he added hastily when Lion still looked skeptical.
“Uh…” Tortoise said. “That is true, Lion. We have family that lives in the sea and they can grow very big,” and before Lion could question him further, he added: “But I don’t know what the trouble is with them, Lion!”
“What is the trouble with them, Monkey?” Lion stared again at Monkey. “Speak up!” he ordered.
“I don’t have all the details, Lion,” Monkey was nervous again. “Terrapin just told me a little bit.” Lion continued staring at Monkey.
“It’s s-something to do with the t-turtles’ hatchlings, Lion,” Monkey stammered.
“Hatchlings? Hatchlings? What is that?” interrupted Baboon.
“It’s baby turtles, Baboon,” Jackal said impatiently. “Let Monkey continue!”
“It seems that the baby turtles are in danger,” Monkey said, but Lion was not satisfied.
“What kind of danger, Monkey?” Lion insisted. “Are you speaking the truth?”
“Yes, Lion!” Hippo butted in. Suddenly all eyes turned to Hippo and Monkey was so very relieved that he wanted to give Hippo a big hug. But he stopped himself just in time.
“Yes, the rumours whispered up the river,” continued Hippo. “The baby turtles are in danger!”
“What kind of danger, Hippo?” Lion persisted.
“The rumours did not say, Lion” Hippo responded. “Perhaps we should go to the sea to check up on the turtles.”
“That is a very good idea, Hippo,” Jackal said. “Then we can see for ourselves what the trouble is.”
“Yes!” Monkey had found his voice again. “We’ll go to the sea to find out what the trouble is!” and before Lion could object, he shouted: “Who is coming along?”
“I’m coming along!” Hippo cried. “We can follow the river all the way to the sea! Yes, I’m coming along!”
All the Animals twittered. Who will go along with Monkey and Hippo? All along the river? All the way to the sea? That must be very exciting, some said. That could be very dangerous, said the others.
“Isn’t that the sea where Monkey had almost drowned?” Mouse whispered urgently to Elephant. “Remember, the time when Hyena went along when they crossed the Namib?” Mouse forgot to keep his voice down when he continued. “Remember, that was when we had to find out if Sun was the one that was lighting the fires when he went to sleep at night?”
“No, little Mouse, not that sea,” Owl had heard Mouse. “You’re still a bitty brain!”
“Is there another sea then, Owl?” Mouse was very scared of Owl, but he wanted to know if Monkey had to go back to the sea where he had almost drowned.
“Yes, little Mouse,” Owl said importantly. “The sea at the end of the Namib is to the West. That is where Monkey had almost drowned. Our river flows to the East. That is where Monkey and Hippo are going this time.”
“Ooh,” Zebra sighed. “I’ve always wanted to follow the river all the way to the sea in the East!”
“Are you coming with us then, Zebra?” Monkey asked. Zebra thought for a little bit.
“Yes!” Zebra didn’t have to think for too long. “I’m coming along!” At this point Lion tho
ught that he should speak up.
“Wait a bit, Monkey,” Lion was annoyed. He was the leader of the Animals and nobody had asked his permission to go on this mission. It was time that he showed some authority. “You have not asked me!” Lion roared.
“Are you coming along then, Lion?” Monkey grinned mischievously. He knew Lion was just trying to throw his weight around.
“Uh..,” said Lion. Lion certainly didn’t want to go along! “Uh…I just wanted to make sure that there is a good team going along,” he stammered, trying to save face. The Animals tried not to laugh.
“Jackal, you will go too!” Lion roared, trying to re-establish his authority.
“Of course I’m going along, Lion,” Jackal grinned. “I wouldn’t miss this mission for anything in the world.” This time the Animals laughed out loud.
“Very well then,” Lion scowled. “Now let me go back to sleep,” and he loped off to plop down under a tree. It looked as if he was pouting, but the Animals didn’t want to stare…
~~***~~
“Let’s go!” shouted Monkey, jumping onto Zebra’s back. Jackal was in front. He set off at a fast trot. Hippo was moving at a good clip at the back of the little group. Monkey had just enough time to turn around and wave to the Animals before the team disappeared along the bend in the river.
“How long do you think it will take us, Hippo?” Monkey asked.
“It’s a very long river, Monkey,” Hippo replied. “It will be very many days before we reach the sea.”
“How will we find the turtles?” asked Zebra, but before Hippo could respond they heard loud shouts from behind. Someone was making a lot of noise!
“What now?” Jackal asked impatiently. They had a long way to go, as Hippo had said. They needed to move along swiftly.
“Wait for me! Wait for me!” they heard, but they couldn’t see anyone.
“Who’s that?” asked Zebra. Monkey just laughed and even Jackal had to grin when he recognized the voice. Then Meerkat came charging out of the tall grass that grew on the river’s edge.
“There you are!” shouted Meerkat. “I thought I was going to miss you!” Meerkat was panting from running very fast to catch up with the team. But he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Where have you been, Meerkat?” asked Monkey. “I didn’t see you among the other animals.”
“Oh, I’m always around somewhere.” Meerkat grinned some more. “When I got back to the other animals, they told me about this mission. I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.”
Jackal laughed. It was good to have Meerkat on the team. Meerkat got onto Zebra’s back, behind Monkey.
“Thanks for the ride, Zebra!” Meerkat was very excited. “Remember to call me Meerkat, Zebra! All my friends do!”
Then Meerkat turned around and said to Hippo. “Hippo, remember to call me Meerkat! All my friends do!”
“Thank you, Meerkat,” Hippo said with a wide smile on his face. Meerkat was a friendly little animal and his enthusiasm was catching.
The team set off once again, with Jackal trotting out in front. Zebra was behind him. On his back Monkey and Meerkat sat, chattering away. In the back Hippo was sturdily jogging along. They were in very high spirits and they were moving at a fast clip. This was going to be an exciting mission!
~~***~~
“How will we find the turtles, Hippo?” Zebra asked one afternoon when they were resting beside the river. The sun was low on the horizon and the sky was painted a bright orange. The team had been travelling for a couple of days and in all the excitement Zebra had almost forgotten about the question he had asked the first day.
“When we reach the sea we’ll have to turn right and then walk along the beach,” Hippo responded. “We will have to travel south for a couple of days. Then we’ll reach the place where the hatchlings are. That is what the rumours say.”
Zebra missed most of Hippo’s answer. His brain got stuck on the word ‘beach’.
Now he blurted: “What is a beach? I’ve never seen that.”
“We’ve been on a beach when we crossed the Namib!” Meerkat said.
“But what is it?” Zebra asked again.
“It’s a stretch of sand that runs all the way next to the sea,” it was Monkey’s turn to remember.
“We’ll be able to play in the sand again!” said Meerkat. “I can’t wait to get to the sea.” But Zebra was not finished.
“And the sea? How big is this sea?” Zebra asked.
“Oh, it is very big,” said Hippo. “I can almost not explain it to you, but let me try.” He thought for a while.
“When we get to the sea, we can either turn right, which would take us South. Or we could turn left, which would take us North. We can walk in either direction, for many, many days. And then we could walk for many more days… But still we would not find the end of the sea.”
“And is this sea very wide?” Zebra was fascinated. Hippo had to think some more.
“Look, Zebra. When you look towards our river you can see to the other side. Where we are now, the river is narrow, and the other side of the river is close. But do you remember that in some places the river was very wide and you had to swim very far to get to the other side?” Hippo asked.
“Yes, I remember, Hippo,” Zebra answered. “I was very tired when I tried it once. And then I had to swim all the way back again!”
“So, when we reach the sea you will find that you cannot see to the other side. The water goes all the way over the horizon and you cannot swim to the other side.”
“Ooh,” Zebra sighed. “That is big!” But Zebra couldn’t imagine a stretch of water so big that you couldn’t see to the other side.
“I can’t wait to play on the beach,” was all that Meerkat could think of.
~~***~~
The team travelled for many more days. When it was very hot during the afternoons they rested under a tree, while Hippo went into the river to cool down.
One afternoon when Hippo was again cooling down in the water, Jackal got up from under the tree where they were resting.
“I smell something in the air,” was all he said before he trotted off. He was away for a long time and when he got back he was in a hurry.
“There’s something funny in the air,” Jackal said. “I don’t know what it is, so let’s hurry and go see what we can find.”
So the team set off again. Jackal was in a big hurry and the others had to strain to keep up with him. After a while they also felt the change in the air. It was very warm and they smelled water. But it was a different sort of smell.
They kept going for as long as they could, but eventually even Jackal had to stop. The river was very wide and there weren’t many trees around. They had to look around for a place to sleep. But they had scarcely settled down when Jackal was up again. He was restless all night long.
~~**~~
“Listen!” Jackal instructed. The others were waking up, but slowly. They had travelled until very late the previous evening. Then Jackal was restless all night long and nobody got a lot of sleep.
“Listen!” Jackal instructed again. Meerkat was yawning loudly and of course then all the others had to yawn too. Even Jackal yawned. But then everyone was quiet again and they sat silently, trying to hear what Jackal was hearing.
Far, far away there was the whisper of a sound. It was almost a swooshing sound. It did not sound like the wind through the trees, and besides, there were no trees around them. But the sound came from very far away.
“Let’s go find this sound!” said Jackal and the team got on their way. Jackal was in a hurry so they travelled fast. The sound was getting louder and louder as they travelled. They were travelling very fast when suddenly Jackal stopped. Zebra was very close behind and had to swerve very quickly to avoid running into Jackal. But unfortunately Monkey and Meerkat was not holding on tightly, so they flew through the air. Both of them fell on to
p of Jackal. Jackal gave one yelp of pain and then he had no more air left in his lungs. Monkey and Meerkat were sprawled all over him and he could not breathe. That was when Zebra heard Hippo.
“Get out of the way! Get out of the way!” cried Hippo. Hippo was running so fast that he could not stop in time. Jackal, Monkey and Meerkat were lying in a heap directly in Hippo’s path. They could not untangle themselves! Hippo couldn’t stop and he couldn’t swerve!
Then Zebra did something astonishing…
~~**~~
Zebra had managed to swerve just in time so that he would not run over Jackal. He felt Monkey and Meerkat flying off his back and then he heard Jackal’s yelp, but by then he had already ran past Jackal.
He almost lost his footing, but he didn’t stop. He ran around in a wide circle, trying to regain his balance. That was when he heard Hippo calling out and he realized that Hippo couldn’t stop in time. He didn’t think that Hippo would be able to swerve either. Hippo was going to run straight on and over Jackal, Monkey and Meerkat!
Everything happened very fast after that! The wide circle brought Zebra back to the others and he found himself running with Hippo, right next to him, side by side and in the same direction.
Then, while keeping pace with Hippo, he pushed Hippo’s tummy with his shoulder. He kept running and he kept pushing Hippo’s tummy. Hippo’s direction changed slowly, too slowly! Zebra gave a very hard push and suddenly Hippo found himself running in a different direction.
Zebra had just enough time to jump! He jumped clear over the three on the ground. All he could see was Meerkat’s eyes, wide open in fear. Zebra came to a standstill on the other side and then he started trembling. His legs almost gave way beneath him.
~~**~~
“That was the most scared I’ve ever been in my whole life!” Meerkat had eventually found his voice again. Jackal and Monkey had no idea what he was talking about. Meerkat was a happy little animal but right now he was getting very annoyed with the two.
“We could have been killed!” he exclaimed. “We almost got trampled under Hippo’s feet!” Then he told them exactly what had happened, and how Zebra had saved their lives.
“Is this true?” Monkey looked at Zebra, but it was Hippo who answered.