This story is the brainchild of a life long love. I'm an avid collector of hippos, so I suppose it would make sense that I would write a story about one. Eventually, I hope to turn this into a series for kids, illustrated and everything, so any suggestions at all will be greatly appreciate. As this is intended for kids, the format isn't terribly professional, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!
~ Eden
The Adventures of Little Hippo
The Great Picnic
It was a special day in the Jungle Kingdom. The day of the Great Picnic! Once a year, all the Animals gathered together to laugh, eat, and play. It was the biggest party in the whole jungle!
Every part of the picnic was wonderful fun, but there was one part that everyone loved more than anything: The Food! It was an unspoken contest every year to see who could bring the most original dish, and all the Animals worked hard to create their delicious surprises.
Little Hippo was more excited than anyone! The Great Picnic was his favorite part of the year and he was especially excited about the contest!
But what should I make? he asked himself. Last year no one liked my Bamboo Fries. This year I must make something wonderful!
Little Hippo thought and thought, but just couldn’t think of anything to make!
“Hmm…maybe a walk in the jungle would help me think better!” he said.
And so he did.
He walked a ways into the jungle, and very soon he came upon Monkey, who was high in a tree.
“Hello, Monkey! What are you doing so high in that tree?” he asked.
Monkey chattered, “Silly Little Hippo, what do you think I’m doing? I’m getting bananas for my famous Banana Cream Pie! It will be the most superb dish at the picnic.”
Little Hippo stood on the ground and thought for a moment, when suddenly he had an idea!
“Monkey,” he asked. “Do you think I could help you make your pie? I can’t think of anything to make on my own.”
Monkey laughed. “No, you cannot help me. How would you get up the tree? You are too large to climb up and get bananas. No, go away, Little Hippo. Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Hurt by Monkey’s words, Little Hippo turned away.
He walked further into the jungle and after awhile, he saw Rabbit digging in his garden.
“Hello, Rabbit! What are you doing?” he asked.
“Hello, Little Hippo. Why, I’m digging up carrots for my special Carrot Cake! No one will have a dish as fine as mine!” he boasted.
Little Hippo got excited. Could this be the answer to his dilemma?
“Oh Rabbit, may I help you? You see, I have nothing of my own to bring…”
“Oh no, Little Hippo, you can’t help me. You cannot dig deep enough to get the carrots out. And besides, no one but me can make such fine carrot cake.”
Little Hippo hung his head in disappointment and again walked away. He was getting worried. Surely there was something he could do!
He kept going until he saw Elephant ahead of him.
This is it! He thought. Surely Elephant will let me help him!
He ran up to Elephant and saw that he was breaking giant nuts with his mighty feet.
“Hello, Elephant! What are you doing?” He asked excitedly.
Elephant laughed and said, “I’m breaking nuts to put in my special nut bread! I can’t wait to bring it to the picnic.”
Little Hippo nearly jumped with joy.
“May I help you, Elephant? I can’t seem to think of something to make on my own.”
Elephant frowned. “No, Little Hippo, you can’t. You are not big enough to crush these nuts. No, no, I will do it myself.”
Little Hippo was very discouraged as he left Elephant. What was he to do?
He walked back to his home and started to look around the kitchen again. After searching high and low, all he had was a box of chocolate chip cookies. He sat in a chair and frowned.
Maybe I shouldn’t go to the picnic. All I have to give are these cookies. He thought sadly.
Just as he was about to put the cookies away, there was a knock on his door. He opened it just enough to see that it was the Storyteller.
The Storyteller was a man who wandered the Jungle telling stories of the Master and his son, Jesus. Little Hippo loved these stories, and was good friends with the Storyteller.
Storyteller smiled warmly. “Hello, Little Hippo. Are you ready for the Great Picnic?”
Little Hippo shook his head. “No, I’m not going to the Picnic.”
The Storyteller looked surprised. “Why not, Little Hippo? You love the Picnic!”
“Because I am too large to help Monkey, I cannot dig deep enough to get carrots for Rabbit, I’m too small to help Elephant, and I can’t think of anything original of my own. All I have are these cookies, and they are nothing special.” He said sadly.
The Storyteller frowned. “Little Hippo, I think you need to hear one of my stories. I was saving it for the Picnic, but I will tell it to you now.”
“One day while the Master’s son, Jesus, was still on earth, he spent the whole day teaching people. 5000 of them, in fact! The people loved Jesus’ teachings, and they listened closely as he spoke. Well, as the day went on, people started to get hungry. One of Jesus’ helpers came to him and said, ‘Jesus, it’s getting late. Send these people away so they can go find food.’
Jesus told them to go see if any of the people had food. They searched, and brought back a small boy.
‘All we could find was this little boy’s lunch, Jesus. It’s just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes.
Jesus asked the boy if he would give his lunch, and the boy gave it willingly. Jesus blessed the food, and gave it to his helpers.
‘Go give it to the people.’ He said.
They divided up the people, and started to hand out the food. To their surprise, the food didn’t run out! It just kept going until they not only fed all of the 5000 people, they had 12 big baskets left over!”
Little Hippo stared wide-eyed at the Storyteller. “Did that really happen?” he asked.
The Storyteller smiled. “Yes, it did. Don’t you see, Little Hippo? That little boy was not the biggest or the strongest or even the most talented, but because he gave his lunch to Jesus, it was used to feed 5000 people! See how something so insignificant and someone so small to do amazing things?”
Little Hippo felt himself begin to smile. “You mean that even though I’m small and only have cookies, the Master could use them…and even me?”
The Storyteller smiled wider. “Yes. Now,” he said, holding out his hand. “Come to the Picnic with me?”
Little Hippo picked up his cookies and took Storyteller’s hand.
The day was full of fun and laughter, and Little Hippo had the time of his life. The Storyteller told his story as everyone ate, and Little Hippo was reminded that even though he did not bring much, the Master still loved him and wanted him to give it willingly. That thought was what kept Little Hippo smiling through the day. And best of all, by the end of the day, his cookie plate was empty!
The End
