So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [Genesis 1:27]
"Horace the Hippo"
“What do you mean you aren’t pretty?” Terrance
asked his friend Horace. Terrance was a toucan and since he was pretty sure he
was very pretty, he felt sure everybody thought that they were pretty. But in
his private thoughts, he did think Horace was pretty awful looking. Horace was
a hippo.
“Well my mom always said I was pretty but then again,
she was a hippo too. Terrance, hippos are just not pretty. Not like giraffes or
peacocks at least.” He said jealously.
“Ok, well if you
could pick one thing about a giraffe that you would want, what would it
be?” Terrance said. Terrance, like all toucans, could cause wishes to come
true for the people who they love or like a lot. That’s why people like
having toucans for pets. It isn’t because they are nice birds. It's the
dream granting thing that makes them great.
“Well if my neck was
long and elegant, why all the pretty giraffes would love me and I would have
tons of friends then.” Horace said his voice full of envy.
“Ok, it’s yours.” Terrance said, he flapped his wings wide and
then said ‘BAKKAH!” which is the spell.
“Hey, HEY
what’s happening?” Horace said in a panic as he felt his big hippo
head begin to shoot high into the sky under the most beautiful giraffe neck
that was growing from his hippo body. When stopped, Horace stood there not
really knowing what to do with this much neck. Then, slowly at first and then
faster, his head began to sway back and forth like an out of control carnival
ride. His big hippo head was too heavy for that tiny neck. All of a sudden, it
toppled downward. All around the jungle, the animals heard Horace yelling for
help as the ground grew closer and closer and then WUMP! It hit the ground.
“Murmph mr murtle mu” Terrance heard his friend say.
“Just a moment, let me get your head out of the sand.” The
toucan said and he pulled Horace’s head back until it popped back into the
air and he laid it on its side with that big giraffe neck just winding
everywhere back to his body.
“This isn’t working Terrance.
Not only is it dangerous, I think I look foolish with this huge neck attacked
to my big fat head.
“BAKKAH” Terrance squawked and Horace
was himself again.
“I still want to be pretty. Like the Pelican
with those beautiful long legs. They can even sleep on just one leg. I wish I
could do that,” he said lifting one of his squatty hippo legs and then
putting down before he fell.
“Ok, let’s try that.”
Terrance said and out went his wings “BAKKAH”. Said the bird and the
spell took effect.
“Here we go again.” Horace said gasping
as he shot into the air with his legs growing long and skinny under him. When
he stopped, he was standing tall enough to see over the grass. He peered down
at his four pelican legs quivering trying to hold up his massive hippo weight.
“Wow, Terrance, my legs are so pretty.” Horace said with admiration
and he started to walk toward the marshes where the other pelicans stayed. But
the pelicans didn’t see Horace as pretty because of his long legs.
“Yikes!” many screamed and took flight thinking it was some
kind of monster. Other’s laughed thinking Horace had come up with a
strange costume. Others ran to him with Band-Aids thinking he was the scene of
a terrible collision between a bird and a hippo.
“Oh Terrance,
nothing is working.” Horace said bitterly.
“BAKKAH”
Terrance said flapping his wings and Horace was back to normal.
“How will I ever stop being ugly?” He said with great sadness in his
heart.
“Horace I told you before, you are already pretty. When
you say you are ugly, you insult God our creator. Way back in the beginning of
time he made hippos. He made toucans and pelicans and giraffes and even humans
and each of them was perfectly made for what God wanted them to be. We are not
made to look pretty to each other. Look to your friends, the hippos and be at
peace that you are what God made you to be. Envy is a way of saying ‘God
you did a bad job’ and that makes God very sad indeed.” The wise bird
counseled his friend.
“Well I don’t want God to be sad. I
want to be all He made me to be, not what he made someone else to be. I want to
be the best Horace the Hippo he ever made.” Horace said his big hippo
chest sticking out proudly.
“Oh Horace?” Horace and Terrance
both heard a melodic female voice sing out. Just then, Henrietta Hippo stepped
from behind the grasses. “Will you take me to the waterfall today?”
she said looking at him with big eyes that were full of admiration.
“Wow, she is pretty.” Horace said to Terrance and then he waddled her
way doing a dance to make himself more pretty to her. Off they went as Terrance
looked on in amazement.
“Those are two ugly hippos,” he said
to himself. Then he flew back to his tree to see if there was a pretty toucan
there who might like a trip to the waterfall too.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. [1 Corinthians 12:14-20]
Get all
50
Children's Christian Stories in one handy volume. This is a perfect
collection for Elementary Teachers, Sunday School Teachers, Parents,
Babysitters or anyone wanting to share a story with a child or children that
may have a positive inpact on their future value system.
