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The Longest Night


" Hold on, we have." shouted Joe " Look here."

The guard came slowly back and shone his torch through the gates.The beam of his torch flickered round and came to rest on the shape of a very sleepy hippo.

" Good heavens." said the guard. " It's a hippo."

" We know that." I said. " We've brought it for you."

" I don't want a hippo." said the guard.

" O no." I said. " That's all we need, didn't Mr Pepperday say we were bringing it."

" He's not said anything to me." said the guard.

" Lets tie it to the gates and go home." said Joe. " I'm dead beat."

It seemed like a good idea so I started to tie the rope holding the hippo to the railings of the gate. The guard started getting agitated shouting we can't do that, he said would go and ring Tom he should know something about it. The Guard told us not to go away, as if we could. The guard hurried off into the darkness of the zoo.

Policeman must turn a bit strange at four o clock in the morning, he wandered up out of the gloom and stood by the hippo slowly rocking backwards and forwards on his heals. Dog tired we just lent dejectedly against the gates of the zoo.

" Taking your dog for a walk then, ho ho ho .. " said the policeman.

We were too tired and sleepy to be witty.

" It's a hippopotamus." said Joe.

The hippo, I think, was asleep although it was still standing up.

" Got a licence to drive it, ho ho ho ..." said the policeman.

We said nothing, it was hard enough just trying to stay awake.

" Where's the wheelbarrow you brought it in, ho ho ho ..." the policeman went on. " Looks almost real." he said giving it a thump on the back with his truncheon.

At this the hippo woke up suddenly and turned his head towards the policeman, almost knocking him over.

" Great sergeants stripes." he shouted. " It's alive."

Course it's alive I said to the policeman and ask him what did he think it was.

Apparently he had thought it was a model or something for advertising. Just for a joke I told him it was a good job it did not have his leg off.

The Policeamn ask us what we were doing with a real live hippo in the middle of the night on a public highway

" Bringing it to the zoo." I said.

" It escaped." said Joe.

" Escaped !. " said the policeman with a certain note alarm in his voice.

" Oh they often escape." I said.

" It's the phantom cage opener." said Joe.

" It was two tigers last week wasn't it." I said to Joe.

" Polar Bear last week, tigers were the week before." said Joe.

" What are you talking about." said the policeman looking ever more alarmed.

" They pay us to catch them and get them back to the zoo before they open in the morning." said Joe.

The policeman looked so astounded that we couldn't help laughing. He realised then we were having him on. He decided he was not going to hang around, the last thing he wanted to report to his sergeant was seeing a hippopotamus, he would never get his promotion.

With that the policeman wandered off back into the gloom from whence he had come.

The zoo guard returned a short while later with someone who we assumed was Tom. Tom still had his pyjamas on under his mac. Tom fortunately was pleased about arrival of the hippo and told us he had a pen all ready for it.

The guard unlocked the gates and Joe untied the hippo. Tom thanked us again for fetching him and said he would take him to his pen. We ask him if he wanted help remembering the trouble we had had handling him.

Tom declined our offer, Hippos are easy to handle he said, you just tickle them behind the ear and they will do what ever you want. So saying Tom tickled the hippo behind its ear and led it away as if it were a pussy cat.

" Well I'll be blow'd." said Joe.

We met Mr Pepperday a few days later and he thanked us for collecting the hippo. He gave us some tickets to the keepers dinner at christmas.

Mr Pepperday said it was very strange but the hippo had not wanted any food for three whole days.



Short Story Series - From the book - The Zoo Keepers Daughter © Tony on the Moon