Poem by Emile Victor Rieu

The Hippopotamus’s Birthday

He has opened all his parcels
      but the largest and the last;
His hopes are at their highest
      and his heart is beating fast.
O happy Hippopotamus,
      what lovely gift is here?
He cuts the string. The world stands still.
      A pair of boots appear!

O little Hippopotamus,
      the sorrows of the small!
He dropped two tears to mingle
      with the flowing Senegal;
And the “Thank you” that he uttered
      was the saddest ever heard
In the Senegambian jungle
      from the mouth of beast or bird.

1. What Does It Matter?
2. The Flattered Flying Fish

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