Raintree 5 When do Hippos Play?

 Poem: When do Hippos Play?

This poem is based around the river Nile in Africa. After a hot day, as night

falls, the rhinos and elephants go away to sleep. The hippos go to the water

to bathe and play. They think that the rhinos and elephants are foolish to

miss all the fun. The hippos cannot swim or float—they sink slowly into the

cool water and fall on the soft riverbed. Then they bounce up again, and

they keep doing this for many hours. The fish move around their bodies in

the water. Afterwards, the hippos come up to the shore to chew on grass.

They dry themselves by shaking and stamping. As the sun comes up, they

go off to sleep and the rhinos and elephants get up to play.

This poem takes us to a distant land and tells us about a few different kinds

of animals and their different habits. The elephants and rhinos stay awake

during the day and go to sleep as the sun sets, but the hippos have the

opposite routine. The poem takes us close to these fascinating animals and

gives us a glimpse into how they spend their time bathing and playing. It is

a very visual poem, as it paints a vivid picture of the hippos splashing about

in the water. It describes precisely the movements of these animals, how

their bodies move in the water, what can be seen under the water, and also

mentions the other creatures around the hippos—the fish and the pelicans.

With words like sank, shiver, strolled, bounced, wove, stomping and

chomping, the poet makes it easy to imagine the creatures’ movements. The

poet shows a sense of fun in his writing, as he describes the animals’

activities as play and uses simple words that would be interesting to

children. The poem also makes us part of a secret—the rhinos and

elephants do not know how the hippos play during the night, but we do.

POEM WHEN DO HIPPOS PLAY?

A. 1. The rhinos and the elephants lie down to sleep as the sun sets. They live by the African river Nile.

2. a. The hippos think that the rhinos and elephants are fools.

 b. They think so because the rhinos and elephants go away to sleep just as the hippos start

bathing in pools. They think that the rhinos and elephants miss all the fun.

3. The hippos sink slowly into the river. They cannot swim or float. They fall to the soft river bed.

4. Underwater is the soft river bed. We can find darkish green plants with bits of red there. There are

also fish which weave in and out under the hippos’ belly. The hippos stroll on the bottom of the

river and bounce up for air. They do this for hours.

5. After coming up to the shore, the hippos feed on the grass by the river. They dry off their bodies by

shaking and stamping. They also bite and chew grass.

6. When the sun rises, the hippos go away to lie down and sleep. The rhinos and elephants get up to

play and to enjoy the bright day and the warmth of the sun.

WHEN DO HIPPOS PLAY? POEM

A. Answer in brief.

When do rhinos and elephants go to sleep? Why?

 Ans: The rhinos and elephants go to sleep after sunset like most of the other animals. The rhinos

through the day had faced the severe heat and retired to sleep when the weather was cooler in the

night. The elephants too went to put their head to rest near the river after it was sunset.

B. Answer in detail.

How do the hippos keep themselves busy after sunset? When is their rest time?

 Ans: While the rhinos and elephants sleep at night, hippos start to play, bathe and eat. They go to the

shallow pools and sink into the river. Though the water is cold, the hippos seem to enjoy it. They go to

the bottom of the river, stroll there for some time along with the fish which follow them closely. After

spending some time under water the hippos come up to have food and have bites of grass by the

river side. By the time they finish their feast, the sun rises again from the East. The hippos, which were

busy right through the night, fall down to take rest and sleep during the day.

C. Read the lines and answer the questions.

1. The fish followed closely, and wove in and out

 Under their belly and up to their snout

 a. Where are the fish?

 b. Who are they keeping company?

 c. How do they keep themselves busy?

 Ans: a. The fish are underwater where the hippos were taking a stroll.

 b. They are keeping company with the hippos.

 c. The fish are playing and moving in and out under the belly of the hippos.

2. With night fading fast, they were full from the feast

 The sun came back, rising up from the east.

 a. Who are they?

 b. What was their feast?

 c. What did they do after sunrise?

 Ans: a. They refers to the hippos.

 b. The hippos feasted on the grass on the riverside.

 c. After sunrise, the hippos fell asleep after keeping themselves busy through the night.

D. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)

 Why do the hippos think the rhinos and elephants are fools? What do you think the elephants and

rhinos would do when the hippos are asleep through the day?

Ans: [Free response]