96 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 



cording to his usual custom, to open the door 

 of the hippopotamus' house, so that the ani- 

 mal could go in and out if he wished. 



In the course of the evening the night 

 watchman noticed that the door of the hip- 

 popotamus' house was shut and, on going in- 

 side, found the big hippopotamus evidently 

 suffering from the heat and very anxious to 

 get outside. Consequently the watchman was 

 told to let the animal into the outside yard 

 so that he could go into the water if he wanted 

 to. And as soon as the door was opened the 

 hippopotamus went straight out and into the 

 tank, where he stayed with just the tip of his 

 nose out of the water in great content. 



"When the keeper returned that night (he 

 always slept over the hippopotamus' house), 

 he remembered the nice, clean water in the 

 tank and that he had shut the hippopotamus 

 in the house and forgotten to let him out. As 

 it was still very hot he decided to take a bath 

 himself and, entering the yard from the out- 

 side gate, stripped and took a header into the 

 tank. As it happened he plunged straight 



