All I Want For Christmas Is A Hippopotamus

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas 
Only a hippopotamus will do 
Don’t want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy 
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy 

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas 
I don’t think Santa Claus will mind, do you? 
He won’t have to use our dirty chimney flue 
Just bring him through the front door, that’s the easy thing to do 

I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs 
Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes 
To see a hippo hero standing there 

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas 
Only a hippopotamus will do 
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses 
I only like hippopotamuses 
And hippopotamuses like me too 

Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then 
Teacher says a hippo is a vegeterian 

There’s lots of room for him in our two-car garage 
I’d feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage 
I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs 
Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes 
To see a hippo hero standing there 

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas 
Only a hippopotamus will do 
No crocodiles or rhinoceroseses 
I only like hippopotamuseses 
And hippopotamuses like me too!  
– I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas, by John Rox 

Have you given any thought as to what you want for Christmas? It must be my age kicking in, because I am not particularly interested in receiving any material gifts anymore. I have reached the age where the Gift of Time has become far more important than anything else. As the finality of life becomes real and almost tangible, making memories with those I love and hold near and dear is far more valuable than anything else that money can buy. 

Amidst the gloom and doom of bygone Christmases, I found this hippopotamus poem and realized that this is exactly what I would love to have, symbolically of course, but to the tune of something ridiculously funny, and larger than life, a challenge unto itself, but loaded with character and affection. Simple, but complex. Is that asking too much? I mean, I just want a hippo! OK, maybe a Tibetan Mastiff or Maine Coone would do as well… 

Yes, Stella, this one´s for you!