*Note: greetings.... meet Henrietta Hippo. Henrietta is the main character of a children's story that i have written and am hoping to have published. anyway... this is what i thought Henrietta should look like.

**Note: Here's the story....

Henrietta Hippo

Once there was a hippo named Henrietta. Henrietta loved to dance. Henrietta would put on her favorite pink dress and her favorite black shiny shoes and Henrietta would go outside and dance. She would dance by the trees. She would dance by the flowers. Henrietta even tried to dance with the bees and during thundershowers. She twirled and she whirled. Henrietta loved to dance. But her friends did not.

“Henrietta, what are you doing?” asked Robby the rhinoceros.

“I’m dancing,” said Henrietta.

Robby shook his head.

“No you’re not. You can’t be dancing,” said Robby.

Henrietta stopped dancing. She was puzzled.

“What do you mean Robby? Why am I not dancing?” asked Henrietta.

“Because. I’ve never heard of a hippo dancing. And everybody knows that hippos do not dance. That would be different,” said Robby.

This made Henrietta mad. She stopped dancing. She crossed her arms, turned up her nose and gave Robby a great big “Harrumph.” And with that Henrietta danced herself away.

Henrietta saw a field of flowers and thought dancing there would be fun. So Henrietta began to dance in the field of flowers. She twirled. She whirled. She hopped and she bopped. It was quite a sight to see.

“Henrietta, what are you doing?” asked Johnny the jackrabbit.

“I’m dancing,” said Henrietta.

“You’re what? Dancing? You? Nah uh!” said Johnny.

“What do you mean Johnny? Why not?” asked Henrietta.

“Because. I’ve never seen a hippo dance. And everybody knows that hippos do not dance. That would be different,” said Johnny.

This made Henrietta mad. It made Henrietta really mad. She stopped dancing. She crossed her arms. She stomped her feet. She turned up her nose and gave Johnny the jackrabbit a great big “Harrumph.” And with that, Henrietta danced herself away.

Henrietta saw a great big pond and thought dancing there would be fun. So, Henrietta began to dance by the water. She danced in and out of the pond. She twirled. She whirled. She hopped. She bopped. She splished and she splashed.

“Henrietta, what are doing?” asked Penny the porcupine.

“I’m dancing,” said Henrietta.

Penny began to laugh.

“What’s so funny Penny?” asked Henrietta.

“You. You’re silly. I’ve never known a hippo to dance. Everybody knows that hippos do not dance. That would be different,” said Penny.

This made Henrietta mad. This made Henrietta really mad. This made Henrietta really really mad. She crossed her arms. She made a mean face. She stomped her feet. She turned up her nose and gave Penny the porcupine a great big “Harrumph.” And with that, Henrietta danced herself away. But then something happened.

Henrietta stopped dancing. Henrietta felt sad. She didn’t feel like dancing. She felt like crying. In fact, she was crying. At first she cried softly. Then she cried loudly. She cried so loud that everyone came to see.

Johnny the jackrabbit stopped jumping and came to see what was wrong. Penny the porcupine stopped poking around and came to see what was wrong. Robby the rhinoceros stopped doing whatever rhinos do and came to see what was wrong. They all tried to stop her from crying but Henrietta could not stop. She cried until she heard a soft sweet voice. It was Grandmother goose.

“Child, why are you crying?” asked Grandmother goose.

“Because I do not want to be different. Because everyone knows that hippos do not dance,” said Henrietta.

“Different? Dancing makes you different?” asked Grandmother.

“Yes, no one has ever seen, heard or known a hippo who danced. Hippos do not dance. That would be different,” cried Henrietta.

“But Henrietta, you love to dance. You are a hippo. You are a hippo who dances. And this doesn’t make you different. It makes you special,” said Grandmother goose.

“Special?” asked Henrietta.

“Yes, special. We are all special in our own little ways. We are all different. Different is what makes us who we are. And different is OK,” said Grandmother goose.

And upon hearing this, Henrietta began to dance again. She twirled. She whirled. She hopped. She bopped. She splished and she splashed. Henrietta hippo was once again dancing. It was a sight to see. It was different but that is OK.

The End

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