Two Huge Hippos

The Great Plotnik has caught a cold. So he wouldn't keep everyone awake coughing last night, he walked out of the lodge in St. Lucia, and into the driveway. A young man in a blue windbreaker approached him. It dawned on Plotnik that he was now standing outside in his pajamas at 1AM in Africa and that the man might signify danger. But then he heard the word 'hee-pos.'

There, on the grass across the little street, were two huge hippos, staring in Plotnik's direction while munching on wet grass. The young man was laughing with glee, and Plotnik must admit, hippos do look funny up close. Beady eyes, huge nose, silly ears, fat rolling down their necks. Plotnik couldn't help himself. Now two people, one in a blue windbreaker and sandals, one in blue checked pajamas, stood by the side of the road roaring in laughter at the two huge hippos.

In the night sky were all the constellations one only sees in the Southern Hemisphere. Monkeys and frogs howled and snorted in the trees. The coals were still red in the braai from dinner. Plotnik forgot to cough.