Hippo Is Very Good at Hiding
For the grown-up reading along
Young children are famous for hiding in plain sight and for popping out before the seeker gets close, because being found is the fun. This book is on their side. Hippo's hiding is terrible and Peep is kind about it every single time, so the laugh is always with Hippo, never at her. When Hippo finally hides well enough to win, she finds out that winning feels like sitting alone in a field, and she chooses to be found. The last page belongs to your listener, who can see exactly where Peep is and gets to keep the secret or shout it. If the book starts a round of hide-and-seek at home, it is a good time to agree on one rule: hide only in places you can always get out of by yourself, never inside anything that latches or closes.
Hippo Is Very Good at Hiding, in full
Hippo was a hippo. She was big, and round, and grey, and she wore a pink bobble hat.
"I am very good at hiding," said Hippo.
Hippo said that a lot.
"Let's play hide-and-seek," said Peep. Peep was a small yellow bird, about the size of a lemon.
Hippo was about the size of a hippo.
"You hide," said Peep. "I'll count." She covered her eyes with her wings.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN! Ready or not, here I come!"
Hippo hid behind a tulip.
It was a lovely tulip. It was a very small tulip.
"Found you!" said Peep.
"How?" said Hippo.
"One more time," said Hippo.
Peep covered her eyes. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN! Ready or not, here I come!"
This time Hippo put a lily pad on her head and stood very, very still.
"Found you!" said Peep.
"How?" said Hippo.
"That is a very nice lily pad," said Peep kindly. "But I can see the rest of you."
"One MORE time," said Hippo.
Peep covered her eyes and counted. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN!"
This time Hippo hid behind the smallest thing she could find. She hid behind Peep.
Peep turned around.
"Found you," said Peep.
"HOW?" said Hippo.
Hippo sat down with a big bump. The lily pads jumped.
"I AM very good at hiding," said Hippo. "I just have not found the right spot."
"Then one more time," said Peep. This time she counted very slowly, to give Hippo a chance. "One... two... three..."
Hippo hurried off through the long grass. By the edge of the pond sat three big, round, grey rocks.
Hippo looked at the rocks. The rocks did not look at Hippo, because they were rocks.
Hippo had an idea.
She took off her pink hat and tucked it under her tummy. She folded her ears down flat. She closed her eyes. She held very, very still.
Now there were four big, round, grey rocks.
"...nine... TEN! Ready or not, here I come!"
Peep looked behind the tulip. No Hippo.
She looked under the lily pads. No Hippo.
She even looked behind herself, just in case. No Hippo.
Peep looked high, and she looked low. She looked in places much too small for a hippo, because you never know.
The shadows grew long. Hippo stayed a rock.
At last, Peep flew down to rest. She landed on a big, round, grey rock.
It was the fourth one.
"She really is very good at hiding," said Peep.
Under Peep's feet, the rock smiled a very small smile.
Then Peep said something else, very quietly.
"I wish I could find her. Hide-and-seek is no fun without the finding."
The rock stopped smiling.
It was very quiet, being a rock. Nobody said "Found you!" to a rock. Nobody laughed with a rock. Being a rock, it turned out, was a little bit lonely.
So, very slowly, the rock wiggled one ear.
Peep looked down. Peep looked at the ear.
"FOUND YOU!" shouted Peep.
"How?" said the rock.
"Rocks," said Peep, "do not have ears."
Hippo laughed a big, round, rolling laugh that made the whole pond wobble. Peep laughed so hard she tumbled right off into the grass.
"You found me!" said Hippo, and she put her pink hat back on. "Being found is the very best part."
"My turn to count," said Hippo. She covered her eyes with her two front feet.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN! Ready or not, here I come!"
Hippo looked behind the tulip. No Peep. She looked under the lily pads. No Peep. She counted the rocks. Three. No Peep.
"Where could she be?" said Hippo.
Somewhere very close by, a small yellow bird was trying very, very hard not to giggle.
Peep was very good at hiding too. If you can see her, don't tell Hippo. Not yet.
