The Hippo And The Mouse
a cartoon
[Opening Scene: A cottage at the end of a path, set amidst green hills.]
Narrator: Once upon a time, there was a hippo who lived way out in the country.
[Scene changes to show a close-up of the front of the cottage, with the hippo standing outside and picking some flowers from the garden. She stands on two legs and wears a long blue dress.]
Narrator: The reason she lived way out in the country was because it was so quiet.
Hippo: Ah, blissful peace and wonderful quiet.
[Scene changes to the living room of the cottage, where the hippo is sitting in an armchair and silently sipping tea.
A snail silently crawls across the room.]
Narrator: Yes, it was so quiet, you could hear a snail crawling. Until one day ...
[The front door bangs open, and a gray mouse enters.
He also walks on two legs, and he wears a red and white sweatsuit and carries, among his luggage, a loudly blaring boom box.
He pauses and looks around the room.]
Mouse: Ah, this looks like a good place to spend the summer!
[He enters a mouse-hole conveniently located at the other end of the room and slams the door behind him.
But even through the closed door, his boom box can easily be heard.
The hippo covers her ears and glares at the mouse-hole.
Scene changes to show her getting ready to hang a picture.]
Narrator: As you may have guessed, things changed.
Because, just as the hippo liked things quiet, the mouse liked things loud.
[The hippo hammers a nail into the wall with quiet taps.
Scene changes to the interior of the mouse-hole, with the mouse banging a nail into the wall to hang a picture.
The wall is cracking from the force of his blows.
Next, the scene changes back to the living room.
The hippo goes out through the front door, quietly closing it behind her.
A moment later, the mouse enters, banging the front door open and slamming it behind him.
The scene changes to the hippo dancing to some quiet flute music playing on an old-fashioned phonograph.
Then we see the interior of the mouse-hole, with the mouse rocking to some heavy metal on his boom box.
Amazingly enough, he hears the knock at the mouse-hole door.
Turning off the music, he opens the door and sees the hippo.]
Mouse: Hey, sister, what can I do for you?
Hippo: Would you care to have some tea with me? I would like to talk to you.
Mouse: Sure thing!
Narrator: And so, that afternoon at four ...
[The hippo and the mouse are seated at a table in the living room.
Each pours a cup of tea.
The hippo silently takes a sip of hers and then stares at the mouse, who is banging the spoon against the cup as he stirs his tea.
He sucks the spoon loudly and slurps his tea.
The hippo takes a quiet bite of a cookie, while the mouse loudly munches his.]
Hippo: You know, Mister Mouse, things used to be very quiet around here. Now they seem ... well ...
Mouse: Loud, right?
Hippo: Ah, yes. Even my neighbor has been complaining.
Mouse: I don't care who's been complaining. I like loud! Lots of noise!
You know, I don't like quiet. Quiet makes me nervous.
[A knock comes at the front door.]
Hippo: Oh, that must be my neighbor.
[She gets up and opens the door.
Standing there is her neighbor, who stands on two legs, wears a three-piece suit ... and is a cat.
At the sight of the hippo's neighbor, the mouse hurries to the hole and returns in a moment with his boom box and other luggage.
He goes out the open front door, which the hippo and the cat are standing by, and then pokes his head back in.]
Mouse: By the way ... [lowers his voice to a whisper] ... uh, thanks for the tea.
[The door closes, and the scene changes to show the cottage from a distance, as before.]
Narrator: And once again, blissful peace and wonderful quiet.
Transcribed by Silvery Shoe