Hippo Cannot Help

Title ideas:
Hippo fails to help.
Only One can save.
Working hard and trying hard cannot save you.

From his jungle cover, Tembo the elephant watched as a hunter laid grass and the last few sticks hiding a deep and deadly trap.

“I must warn all the animals”, thought Tembo.

Tembo firmly explained to the animals that their jungle had become a place of danger. “Watch out for traps!” Tembo trumpeted.

Tembo hurried down to the river, warning all he met, including Kiboko the Hippopotamus. He also told Kiboko, “If you see Dikdik, tell him to watch out for traps.”

Kiboko had been taking a long nice nap just before Tembo rudely interrupted him. “Will you remember to tell Dikdik?” asked Tembo.
“... err... um... YAWN.... sure” replied Kiboko sleepily.

A little later, Dikdik arrived down by the river to get a drink. He noticed Kiboko sunning himself and enjoying a nap. “He looks so peaceful. Ha! Ha! I have the perfect idea to wake him up,” Dikdik thought playfully.

Dikdik found a branch from a flowery tree and shook some pollen out of it.

Suddenly Kiboko’s nap was interrupted by a very irritating sensation in his nose. “AAAAACCHHUUU!” sneezed the sleepy hippo!

As Kiboko came to his senses, he noticed Dikdik standing on the bank of the lake laughing. Then he remembered the message Tembo wanted him to give to Dikdik. “Hey Dikdik! yelled the hippo.

“Dikdik! Wait! I have something important to tell you! bellowed Kiboko.
“Ha! Wait and be caught by you? Not me!” replied Dikdik as he ran away thinking the big hippo was just playing a game with him.

Suddenly, Dikdik felt the ground falling out from under his feet. He had unexpectedly come upon the hunter’s trap.

“Dikdik! Where are you?! yelled Kiboko.
“I am down here!” replied Dikdik in a fearful voice.
“... hey... I thought I heard something .... uh...where are you, Dikdik? asked Kiboko.
“I am down here! Look down the hole in front of your face!” shouted Dikdik.

Kiboko finally saw that the Dikdik had fallen into a trap. He began to lecture Dikdik, “You should learn 10 rules about traps. The first is ... Look where you are going. The second is ....”

“Tell me later, Kiboko!” Dikdik shouted in a panicky voice. “Just get me out of here before the hunter comes!”

“Kiboko, if you can’t help me, please, find someone who can! As soon as the hunter returns, my life will be finished!” cried Dikdik.

Just then, Vervy the monkey walked up to see what all the commotion was about. “Hey Kiboko why are you looking into that hole?” asked Vervy.
Kiboko explained Dikdik’s situation to Vervy. Then Vervy said, “That’s serious! Hey, I have an idea!

This won’t be difficult! All we need is this long stick. Dikdik can put one end in his mouth and we will hold the other end and pull him out. It will be so easy if we work together,” reasoned Vervy.

It seemed like a good idea to them all. So Dikdik clamped down on one end of the stick with his teeth and Kiboko and Vervy positioned themselves for a great display of their pulling power.

The idea seemed to be working. But when Kiboko and Vervy had pulled Dikdik about halfway out of the hole, they heard a CRACK! Suddenly the stick broke and Dikdik felt himself falling again back into the trap.

Dikdik fell back into the trap and hit the cold, dark bottom of the trap with a THUD. Ooof!

At the same time, the breaking of the stick caused Kiboko to lose his balance and he fell backwards onto Vervy.

“OOOOOOOOHHHHH! OOUUCH! cried Vervy. Then angrily he said, “Just look at what you’ve done to my beautiful tail! It’s bent and bruised! It will probably never ever be the same again! I need to go lay down.” And Vervy disappeared into the jungle.

“Kiboko! Kiboko! Please don’t leave me!” shouted Dikdik fearfully.

“Oh... when you said ‘leave’ that reminded me of rule number two about traps... Never, ever walk or run over a big pile of leaves.” instructed Kiboko. “And rule number three is....” Before he could finish his sentence he heard a big rustling sound behind him.

Then suddenly they heard the sound of an elephant. A very big elephant came trumpeting and crashing through the jungle towards them...

“Dikdik! The hunter is coming! We must work quickly,” said Tembo in a calm yet firm voice.
“Oh, I can’t get myself out and others can’t help me either! Do you know a way to get me out of this trap?” asked Dikdik.

“I AM THE WAY! Leave this to me. Trust me. Come over near the side of the hole,” said Tembo with confidence.

“But I’m no good at holding on,” said Dikdik in a worried voice.

“You don’t have to be good at holding on because I will hold you. I will do all the work. Come now, entrust yourself to me,” Tembo calmly told Dikdik.

“Don’t look down.... Don’t look back.... Keep your eyes on me.... And up you come to safety!” instructed Tembo.

“How does it feel to have yourself safely out of the trap?” asked Tembo.

“Wonderful! Thank you!” shouted Dikdik joyfully.

“Dikdik, you come with me. Stay close to me. Then you will remain safe,” commanded Tembo.

So it is with people. They are the ones in the sin trap! The Bible says all have sinned. We sin by being selfish, hating and hurting others, not doing right, and ignoring God. But God loves people so He sent the Lord Jesus to search for and rescue those who are caught in the sin trap.

There is only one way out. The Lord Jesus is the only Way! Those who trust him and do what he tells them to do, find that he rescues them from the trap that ends in destruction. Jesus is the greatest Friend you will ever have.

This story is based on the Jungle Doctor story by Paul White called “The Helpfulness of Hippo”. Illustrations by Tim Holden, BTL, Kenya, © used with permission.