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Like the familiar tales of “Rumpelstiltskin? and “Lohengrin?, the Nigerian animal yarn called “The Hippopotamus and the Tortoise? deals with a character (the hippo) whose name is a secret, and another character (the Tortoise) who successfully guesses it.  The consequences of the successful guess vary from story to story, but in this case, it results in the hippo and his descendants finding a new habitat to inhabit.

We recorded this story with guest stars Joey (age 13) and Jenny (age 11), who are our nephew and niece respectively; and Ellie (age undetermined) who’s our “adopted daughter?.

We were in Sacramento for our second cross-country flight in less than a month, this time for the Homeschool Association of California Conference.

And what a great conference it was! We presented a well-attended performance in addition to workshops on writing, sign language, physical comedy, mask making and reflections on our 15-year odyssey across America. Our programs were met with enthusiastic response, and we also had a good time attending other presentations. There were a fire twirling demonstration, a rocketry demonstration (you know how cool kids think it is to see things blow up), a skygazing session with large telescopes set up in the courtyard, a swing dance class, a dance for the teens, and a jam session for aspiring musicians, among other activities. We very much hope to return next year!

Our apologies to Libby, Hannah, Melia, and Molly, who did some great work on the FIRST version of this podcast, which we recorded with them before they all left the conference. And then, due to technical difficulties…

Happy Listening,

Dennis (the Hip Hippo) and Kimberly (the Narrator) with Ellie (Tortoise), Joey (Monkey) and Jenny (Hippolyta)