What's the Story? 

Stories, poems, books, biographies, essays and news articles are all good resources for ideas and inspiration for discussion groups, storytelling groups, reminiscing or reading groups. Sometimes thought provoking, sometimes funny and sometimes just a good read there's a wealth of choices. Have a good short story, poem, or idea? Fax it to us and we'll post it so it can be shared with everyone. Need resources? Visit our Store . 

Read the story and try the activities that follow. 

A Riddle and A Tale

A Riddle

Runs all day but never walks
Often murmurs, never talks.
It has a bed but never sleeps,
It has a mouth but never eats.

Crooked as a snake,
Slick as a plate
Ten thousand horses
Can't pull it straight.

A Tale 

Why the Hippopotamus Lives in the Water

Many years ago, the hippopotamus, whose name was Isantim, was one of the biggest kings on the land—only the elephant was bigger. This hippo had seven fat wives, of whom he was very fond, and they went everywhere together. Now and then he used to give a big feast for the people, but though everyone knew the hippo, no one, except his seven wives, knew his real name.

At one of the feasts, just as the people were about to sit down, the hippo said, "You have come to feed at my table, but none of you know my name. If no one can guess my name, you shall all go away without your dinner."

After some time, as no one could guess his name, they reluctantly prepared to leave. But before doing so, the tortoise stood up and asked the hippopotamus what would happen if he told him his name at the next feast?

The hippo replied that if the tortoise discovered his name, he and his whole family would leave the land, and for the future would dwell in the water.

Now, the tortoise knew that it was the custom for the hippo and his wives to go every morning and evening to the river to wash and have a drink. The hippo used to walk at the head of the line, and his seven wives followed behind. One day, when they had gone down to the river to bathe, the tortoise dug a small hole in the middle of the path, and then hid himself behind a nearby bush and waited.

When the hippo and his wives returned, two of the wives were some distance behind the others, so the tortoise came out from where he had been hiding, and crawled into the hole he had dug, leaving the greater part of his shell exposed. When the two hippo wives came along, the first one knocked her foot against the tortoise’s shell, and immediately called out to her husband, "Oh! Isantim, my husband, I have hurt my foot." As you can imagine, hearing this made the tortoise very glad! As soon as all of the hippos were out of sight, the happy tortoise went home.

At the next feast the hippo reminded his guests that they could not eat unless someone knew his name. The tortoise got up and said, "You promise you will not be angry if I tell you your name?" The hippo promised. The tortoise then shouted as loud as he was able, "Your name is Isantim!" When the hippo admitted that this was his name, a cheer went up from all the people, and they sat down to dinner.

When the feast was over, the hippo and his seven wives, in accordance with his promise, went down to the river, and they have lived in the water from that day till now. And although they come ashore to feed at night, you never can find a hippo on the land in the daytime.

Activities

Post the riddle for the group members to read and solve.

Ask the group what they know about Hippos check here at this site for some information. Hippopotamus means River Horse.

Discuss the story and the hippo's behavior. He invited all these people to dinner and then was going to send them home hungry. What about the tortoise and what he did to learn the Hippos name? 

Have the group use Storylines, (try "A Dinner is being given in your Honor" to go with the hippo story) or have them tell their own stories about rivers and the animals that live in them. 

The Hans Christian Andersen Page, The Emperor's New Clothes is still posted by popular demand. Another great tale to use with group storytelling therapy. 

The Bookworm Page activity is an example of how to use a biography and a story with a group. Visit that page for more help with getting started using storytelling, books and biographies for group therapy activities. 

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