Dedicated to my son who loves hippos

Once upon a time, there was a hippo called Happy. But Happy the hippo was ironically not very happy.

You see, he spent a great deal of time at the animal care centre. His parents worked very hard at the zoo to make the humans happy, so they didn’t have time to look after him during the day.

His buddies at the animal care centre? They were all right, I guess. Happy would even call them his friends. They were Chic the Chimpanzee, Ginny the Giraffe and Zany the Zebra.

It’s just that they sometimes hurt his feelings. They were taking running lessons at the centre now. Happy was slower than the other three.

“You are too heavy,” Chic the Chimpanzee suggested.

“Your legs wear you down,” Ginny the Giraffe commented.

“Your form isn’t graceful.” Zany the Zebra remarked.

Happy felt awful, ashamed of his body. He didn’t know why he was born with such thick legs. Why couldn’t he be like the rest of them? Blessed with slender legs that let them run like the wind.

Luckily, something happened one day that made him change his opinion of himself.

It was their first day of swimming lessons at the animal care centre. Their teachers felt that water safety was important, so they wanted the little animals to learn swimming,

Except that it didn’t go very well.

Chic the Chimpanzee, Ginny the Giraffe and Zany the Zebra all struggled mightily in the water. They flung their arms and legs wildly around, trying their best to wade in the water.

But Happy the Hippo was different. The moment he set foot in the pool, he felt that he was practically floating on air (except that it was water, if you know what I mean). His heavy legs felt like they belonged in the water. They pushed his enormous frame forcefully, yet gently such that it seemed that he was gliding in the water.

In fact, he displayed such grace that his friends and teachers unanimously called him “The Underwater Ballerina”.

Happy the Hippo finally lived up to his name. He was happiest whenever he swam in the waters.