Hippo fails to help

Title ideas:
Hippo fails to help. [Animal parable]
Only Jesus can save us.
We Cannot Save Ourselves.

[Tembo the] Elephant stood quietly in a forest. He was watching a hunter lay sticks and grass across a deep pit. It was a trap [in which] to catch prey [animals].

[Use names for all the animals in the story, or use the word in your language for each animal like a name.]

[Tembo] Elephant thought, “I must go warn the other animals!”
And away he went.

Elephant went and explained to other animals, “Watch out! Hunters have dug dangerous traps in our forest!”

Elephant [Tembo] hurried along, warning all the animals whom he met. When he came to a river, he saw Kiboko [the Hippopotamus], who was enjoying a long nap. Elephant [Tembo] awakened him and warned him, too.

Elephant said to him, “If you see Dikdik [the small gazelle/deer], will you tell him to watch out for traps?!”
Hippo [Kiboko yawned sleepily and replied, “Yes, I ]shall.”

A little later, Dikdik came to the river to drink water. He saw Hippo [who was] sunning himself and enjoying a nap. Dikdik felt playful and thought, “Hippo looks so contented [peaceful]! I shall play a trick on him [to make him wake up]!”

Dikdik broke [took] a branch from a flowery tree and shook some pollen from it [into Hippo’s / Kiboko’s nose].

The pollen irritated Hippo’s nose, making him sneeze: “AaaChoo!” This wakened Hippo from his nap.

Hippo saw Dikdik [who was] standing on the river bank [side] laughing. Hippo then remembered the message that Elephant wanted him to tell to Dikdik. So, he yelled [shouted], “Hey, Dikdik!” But Dikdik began to ran away.

“Dikdik! Wait!” bellowed [shouted] Hippo, “I have something important to tell you!”
Dikdik replied, “No! I will not let you catch me!”
Dikdik thought the big hippo only wanted to play with him, so he [dikdik] ran away from him [the hippo].

As Dikdik was running, he suddenly felt the ground fall from under his hooves [feet], and he fell into the hunter’s trap.

Hippo came out of the river, shouting, “Dikdik! Where are you?”

Dikdik called back in a fearful [quiet/muffled] voice, “I am down here in a pit [trap]!”

Kiboko asked again, “I hear your voice, Dikdik, but do not see you. Where are you?”

Dikdik shouted back, “Look down into the hole in the ground before [in front of] you!”

When Hippo saw where Dikdik had fallen into the trap, he [Kiboko] began to scold him [Dikdik]: “Let me tell you ten rules about traps. The first rule says, ‘Look where you are going. The second one says…’”

Dikdik was panicking [afraid] and shouted back, “Tell me [the rules] later, Hippo! Get me out of this trap before the hunter comes back!”

“Hippo!” cried Dikdik, “if you cannot help me, then, please, go bring someone who can [help me], lest [before] the hunter come back and kill me!”

Just then, Vervy [the Monkey] walked up to see what all the commotion [activity] was about. He asked, “Hippo, why are you looking down into that hole?”
Hippo explained to Monkey [Vervy] how Dikdik had fallen into the trap.

Monkey, replied, “This is serious [challenging]. But I have an idea [about what to do]!”

Vervy [Monkey] ran to a tree, and brought back a long stick. He reasoned [explained], “Dikdik will hold the stick end in his mouth, and we shall hold the other end, and pull him out from the pit. This will be easy to do, if we work together!”

All three animals agreed. So Dikdik bit down hard on the stick, while the other two got ready. Hippo would pull on the stick with all his strength, and Monkey would pull on Hippo’s tail.

This [method] was working well while Hippo pulled on the stick. But when Dikdik was about half way out from the pit, they all heard a loud crack [breaking sound] as the stick suddenly broke.

Dikdik fell back into the cold, dark bottom of the pit. Thud! “Ooof!”

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

Monkey cried out, “Ooooo! Ouch!” He angrily said to Hippo, “Look at what you have done to my beautiful tail! You have bent it and bruised it! It may never be straight again! I must go lie down to rest!” Monkey then ran off into the forest.

“Hippo! Hippo!” shouted Dikdik fearfully, “Please do not leave me here alone!”

Hippo said to Dikdik, “I shall now tell to you the second rule about traps. Never walk or run across piled up grass or leaves. The third rule about traps is…” Before he could finish speaking his words, Hippo heard bushes rustling [breaking] behind him.

They heard an elephant trumpeting. It was Elephant [Tembo] crashing through the forest, coming towards them.

Elephant spoke calmly and firmly, “Dikdik! The hunter is coming, so we must act [work] quickly.”

Dikdik replied, “But I cannot get myself out from this pit, and no one else can help me either! Do you know a way to get me out from this trap?”

Elephant replied with a confident voice, “I am the way! Trust me, and I will get you out. Come stand near this side of the pit!”

Dikdik replied with a worried voice, “But I cannot hold on to anything!”

Elephant calmly explained to Dikdik, “You do not have to hold on to anything! Just trust in me, and I will hold on to you!”

Elephant reached down into the pit with his long trunk [nose] and wrapped it around Dikdik’s front legs, saying, “Do not look back! Keep your eyes on [looking at] me! Up you come to safety!” Elephant set Dikdik down on the ground beside him.

Elephant asked, “How do you feel now?”

Dikdik exclaimed [replied] with joy, “Wonderful! I thank you, my Savior [Tembo]!”

Elephant commanded [told] Dikdik, “Come with me! Stay near to me! You will always be safe with me!”

We humans [people] are caught in a trap called “sin.” If we stay in this trap, then we will die forever. It is sin that causes us to be selfish, to hate and harm one another, to do actions we know are wrong, and to ignore the One True God. Still, God loves us and sent the Lord Jesus to search for us and to save us who are caught in this trap called sin.

There is only one way [by which] to get out of this trap. The Lord Jesus explained, “I am the way!” Those who put their trust in him are saved from sin and from death. Those who are saved [whom he saves] love him and obey his commands. Jesus is the best [most powerful] Savior, Friend and Lord that you will ever have.

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