Flodhäst i vardagsrummet

Hippo learned a new phrase today from a fan in Sweden:

Flodhäst i vardagsrummet

It means "hippopotamus in the living room", as in a thing that everyone can see but no one admits is there. Hippo doesn't understand how anyone can ignore a hippopotamus, especially one as cute as him.


This is a Barnslig Flodhäst soft toy from IKEA. It must get cold up there if hippopotamuses have to wear stripy socks to stay warm. I wonder what the hippos do if their pools freeze over.

The Early Hippo Gets the Doughnut

I'm not a morning person kind of hippo, but this weekend I just had to get up early to go to Cockadoodle Zoo. It's a special event at the National Zoo where visitors can see how the animals get ready for work in the morning. I wanted to see what they ate for breakfast, how big a toothbrush they needed, and what they looked like before they put their fur coats on.

I was so excited, I had trouble falling asleep. So I stayed up late playing games with my friends.


Eventually, we did manage to fall asleep.


But as soon as the sun came up I changed into a warm sweater and headed out the door. Here I am with my ticket to get in. HURRY UP!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!


It was a rather rainy day, but I still saw some really cool things – like the baby gorilla swinging in a hammock, the lions and tigers private quarters, and flamingos at feeding time (they get very noisy when they're hungry!).


I also saw a breakfast delivery for the pandas: fresh, crunchy bamboo!


My friends the hippos got a fresh polish and the elephants did their morning exercises. I worked up an appetite watching all the animals eating breakfast, so I was quite relieved when we got to my favorite part of the morning: a free doughnut and coffee.

Hippo St. Patrick's Day!

Mr. O'Potamus (a hippo leprechaun who looks a little like me) wishes you a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

If You Give a Hippo a Hamburger

Ms. Ireland's Class in Smiths Falls, Ontario joined with Ms. Tanner's class in Lake Worth, Florida to write this cute story in the vein of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie:

If You Give a Hippo a Hamburger

By Romario, Chase, Katherine, Nairn, Victoria, and Jessica

If you give a hippo a hamburger he'll want some ketchup to go with it. The ketchup might remind him of his grandma's chili. So he'll want to go see her and eat some.

On the way to the car he might notice the pictures on your refrigerator. So instead of going he'll want to send her a postcard. Then when you go outside to mail them he'll see a huge tree. He'll climb the three and see a little cat.

The cat will remind him of a puppy at the pet store. He'll want to go buy the puppy but when you get there the puppy will already be sold. While you're at the mall he'll see a fishing rod in the hardware store.

The rod will remind him of fishing with grandpa. On the way to grandpa's dock he'll see a tomato plant. The tomatoes will remind him of ketchup so he'll ask you for some.

Chances are that if you give your hippo some ketchup he'll want a hamburger to go with it.

Hippo Hug

Mr. Pastis and Pig have it right in their cartoon Pearls Before Swine. (Click to see the whole comic.) Nothing is better than a big, soft, jiggly hippo hug!