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danza delle ore

Almost from the beginning Ben Ali was not considered a proper alligator; to his fellow gators' resignation and his parents' despair.

Bodies of water were a gator's best friend. Yet Ben Ali tended to wander far from the familiar safety of the swamp.

Gators were to stay low to the ground. Yet Ben Ali from his infancy rose up and ambled about on his hind legs.

Gators viewed their dominion with hostility and suspicion. Yet Ben Ali took in the world with unbridled curiosity and joy.

A gator's favorite hobby was sunbathing. Yet Ben Ali loved to dance. (Who had ever heard of a dancing gator!)

A gator was supposed to obey when ordered, "Go get a hippo for dinner!" Yet Ben Ali chased off his troop of – hungry – gators, and then lost his heart to the slumbering hippo at third sight. (Who had ever heard of a gator falling in love with a hippo?)

A gator was supposed to be scary. Yet while Ben Ali's wide smile appeared so when the hippo took fright and ran away…moments later she leapt into his arms and gave him a tender smile. (Who had ever heard of a gator and a hippo?!)

Perhaps the end was inevitable: Ben Ali and Hyacinth Hippo dancing the hours away; living happily ever after with their family of adorable hiptors.

THE END