Hippo wants to dance.
She jumps up and down
on the dusty ground.
Thump! Thump!
“You’re getting dirt on me!”
says Shongololo, sleeping
in the sand.
“Go dance somewhere else.”
Hippo wants to dance.
She rolls into the river and
splashes her arms and legs.
Splish! Splash!
“You’re making me wet!”
says Kingfisher, hunting
for her breakfast.
“Go dance somewhere else.”
Hippo wants to dance.
She twirls around and around
in a field, kicking her legs up high.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
“Be careful! You nearly kicked me!”
says Meerkat, bathing his babies.
“Go dance somewhere else.”
Hippo wants to dance.
She flops into a puddle of mud and
slides around on her nice big belly.
Squish! Squash!
“Why don’t you stop dancing?”
asks Donkey, carrying his buckets.
“Why can’t you do something
useful instead?”
Hippo is sad.
She is too sad to dance.
She sits on a rock and cries.
The tears roll down her cheeks
and fall on the ground.
Plop! Plop!
Grasshopper hears
Hippo’s tears.
He starts dancing
around her feet.
Hop! Hop!
Hippo and Grasshopper
start to dance, and the other
animals come to look ...
Tasneem Jattiem-Direct Axis
