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.