Silent Night ran a competition recently called Sleepy Stories. I was really keen to write a story featuring Hippo and Duck and got to work in my Literacy book post- haste!
I started brainstorming and realised quite early on that i wanted something quite sentimental as it was their 70 year anniversary. I wanted my story to revolve around the man who had started the company in the first place and have Hippo and Duck feature in there somewhere.
Mummy even drew this cool picture on the white board to give me some inspiration.
You can read my story below:
A warm spring breeze pushes it’s way through the open window of Hippo and Ducks bedroom. Hippo is frantically brushing his teeth, he stops to rub his tongue along them to make sure that they are squeaky clean and admires the way they sparkle in the mirror.
Duck stretches out her feathers before she climbs into bed and waits patiently for Hippo.
Hippo rinses off his toothbrush and places it back in the pot. He switches off the bathroom light and dives into bed.
Duck whispers to Hippo “I’ve got some new pillows, they’re extra soft. I hope you like them.”
Hippo fluffs up his pillow and nestles into it. Duck climbs quietly into Hippos pyjama pocket and they settle down for a good nights sleep.
The clock rolls over to 10 o’clock, Duck is making snuffling snore sounds in Hippo’s ear.
In his sleep, Hippo turns over his new pillow and puff, they vanish!!
Mr Clark is sitting in his office at his new shop. It had been a busy few weeks setting up his new business selling only the comfiest mattresses. He had worked late every night this week and his wife Joan had kept saying to him, “Tom, dear, you work too hard. If you stay any later in that shop you’re going to start seeing things! You need to get some more sleep.”
This advice kept going around and around in his head, he yawned again for the fifth time and decided to call it a night.
As he walked across the showroom, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There in one of the display beds was a gigantic hippo wearing blue and white striped pyjamas with a little yellow duck in his pocket fast asleep and snoring.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again but they were still there and they continued to snore. Mr Clark realised that his wife had been right and he would start seeing things if he didn’t get enough sleep. He put on his hat and his coat, grabbed his briefcase and left.
In his sleep once again, Hippo turned over his pillow and they vanished from the showroom!
Mr Clark, now an old man, is rooting around for something in a drawer. His son is sitting in an armchair next to his Dad. “Ah, here we are.”
He thrusts a worn out piece of paper into his son’s hands. “This is what i saw in the showroom”
His son’s face lights up, he remembers his Dad telling him the story as a child. One late night when they had opened their first shop, he had seen a Hippo and a Duck sleeping in one of the beds.
“I can still see them, you know. Snoring away, comfy as you like” Mr Clark recalls.
“I think these are your icons Dad, this is your ad campaign, they found you!”
And that is the story of how a Hippo and a Duck became part of the silent night history.
Munchkin Megan Presents.. 