Fable: Don't Mind Different Dances

What happens when animals in the Denver Zoo try to get creative with their exercise classes? And what is Hip-Hopera?

Hannah has been writing creatively with REV for a few years, and most of her work has been poetry. This past year, she started learning about the characteristics of fables and planning and carefully writing her own.

The writing process has many phases: brainstorming, organizing, drafting, writing, revising, editing... It's a fluid and on-going process that can make it hard for authors to definitively say, "this piece is finished."

Hannah has been working on this piece on and off for a number of months. Composing anything one letter at a time takes patience and persistence. While this may not be the final version of her fable, it's the one she's chosen to share today.

Enjoy Hannah’s tale of a musical Otter, a nervous Zebra, a mean Vulture, and the Cheetah who thinks she’s in charge!

Once upon a time, in the Rocky Mountains just outside Denver, a group of animals gathered together in the zoo. It was an average morning with blue cloudless skies. The group quieted as the Cheetah rose.

“We at the Denver Zoo Team dream of better animal educators,” roared the Cheetah. “Tomorrow evening I will offer a crystal covered wedding dress to the teacher with the best exercise class.”

Two buddies discussed their ideas of what to do to win the contest. One, an otter, tapped a beat with her tail.

“Out of the box idea,” she sang. “How about merging opera and rap - hip hopera!”

“Fun,” whispered her pal, an extraordinarily nervous, jittery zebra. “I’d like to experiment with exercise in my class. Think the cheetah will go for it?”

The cheetah did not.

“Those aren’t real courses, you McStupidtons,” snapped the cheetah, turning to look at her good friend Vulture.

“What else would you expect from slow animals?” the mean vulture laughed. “Let me join this contest. My vocal zumba class will blow you away! Vocalization is the true workout of heroes.”

The Cheetah drew a big X through Otter and Zebra’s names on her list. She circled Vulture.

Backing away, Otter consoled Zebra. “Don’t worry, friend. I have a plan.”

The next evening, as Cheetah finished helping Vulture into the dress, they heard the thumping of a bass line in the distance. Otter’s truly sweet soprano soared across the treetops.

While Cheetah and Vulture watched sadly, the Otter’s hip-hopera party raged.

All the excluded animals sweated with their pals happier, than ever before.

The lesson, friends, is don’t mind different dances.