Mr. Hippo’s Big Umbrella
It was raining.
Mr. Hippo came to visit Grandma Bear. At the door, he folded up his big black umbrella and placed it in a wooden bucket in the hallway so that the rainwater wouldn’t wet the house.
Grandma Bear was knitting a sweater for her little grandson, Bobo Bear.
Little Bobo Bear was too mischievous; he had already torn his clothes within a short time. This time, Grandma Bear used very strong, thin hemp thread to knit a loose-fitting pullover for him.
When the sweater was finished, Bobo Bear put it on and it fit just right.
Bobo Bear, wearing his new pullover, went out to play with his friends.
Meanwhile, Grandma Bear and Mr. Hippo were enjoying hot tea and chatting.
Suddenly, the sun came out and the sky cleared up.
Out of nowhere, a loud commotion erupted outside. Grandma Bear opened the window to see what was happening. She saw Little Monkey, Elephant, and Giraffe all looking up at the sky.
What strange thing was up in the sky?
Mr. Hippo also looked up and exclaimed, “Oh no!”
It turned out that when Bobo Bear went out earlier, he had opened Mr. Hippo’s big umbrella. The umbrella was so big it could fit five regular umbrellas because Mr. Hippo was a very large hippo.
Bobo Bear thought it was fun to hold Mr. Hippo’s big umbrella, but then a gust of wind came and blew him up into the air like a dandelion seed.
Bobo Bear floated higher and higher, almost touching the clouds.
His friends on the ground were scared and began to shout.
Grandma Bear and Mr. Hippo were also frightened. Bobo Bear could be blown far, far away, and that would be dangerous.
Grandma Bear anxiously shouted, “Quick, close the umbrella! Come down!”
Mr. Hippo replied, “We can’t close it! If we do, he’ll fall and that would be fatal!”
No one could think of a way to save Bobo Bear.
At first, Bobo Bear was very scared. He tightly gripped the curved handle of the umbrella and looked down at his worried grandma, Mr. Hippo, and his friends. He was so scared he almost cried.
But Bobo Bear didn’t cry; he was a brave little bear and wanted to think of a way to save himself.
Suddenly, he noticed the loose sweater on him and the big boots on his feet. He shouted to his grandma, “Don’t worry, Grandma! I have an idea to save myself!”
Bobo Bear hooked the curved handle of the umbrella onto the belt loop of his waist. He freed both his hands, unpicked the hemp thread of the new sweater his grandma had just knitted, and took off one of his big boots.
He tied the boot to the hemp thread, and the boot began to sway and slowly descend. The hemp thread grew longer and the boot got closer and closer to the ground.
The friends below cheered.
“Thud!” The boot landed right on Giraffe’s head. Giraffe didn’t shout in pain; instead, he laughed and picked up the boot with his mouth.
Giraffe quickly lowered his head. Just then, Elephant extended his long trunk and took the boot from Giraffe’s mouth.
Elephant then passed the boot to Mr. Hippo.
With the help of everyone, Mr. Hippo tied the hemp thread connected to the boot around his waist.
Mr. Hippo began to pull on the thread bit by bit. Elephant, Giraffe, Little Monkey, Hedgehog, Badger, all the friends gathered around, along with Grandma Bear, and together they pulled the hemp thread slowly down.
As for Bobo Bear, he had already tied the hemp thread around his waist and was gradually lowering himself down.
Someone shouted, “Look, Bobo Bear looks like a big kite!”
Everyone looked up and saw that Bobo Bear, with the big umbrella behind him, truly resembled a large kite floating in the blue sky.
His friends laughed and began to sing:
Bobo Bear
Has become a big kite,
We are pulling—
Pulling—
Quickly pull the big kite down!
Bobo Bear was getting closer to the ground. He said to everyone, “Wait a minute, wait a minute.” What was he going to do?
It turned out that he saw many fruits high up in the trees, which everyone usually couldn’t reach. Now, Bobo Bear took the opportunity to pick many coconuts, apples, pears, dates… and wrapped them all up in his sweater.
Finally, Bobo Bear returned to the ground.
He gave his grandma a big kiss and said, “I’m so sorry, I tore the sweater you just knitted!”
Grandma Bear smiled and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll knit you a stronger, prettier one.”
Bobo Bear thanked everyone for saving him and treated them to the delicious and sweet fruits he had just picked.
Mr. Hippo folded up his big umbrella and said, “That was close! That was close!”
Bobo Bear stuffed a big apple into Mr. Hippo’s mouth, and as Mr. Hippo chewed, he said, “So sweet! So sweet!”
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
