elves  live in the land     
     beyond the great dam.        
  it was  built  in the late sixties.   
     the elves came  to us then.    
                      
                      
 they  were  very  manipulative,  and  we 
 came to  trust them.          us 
 kids would play down  at the water  even 
 though  we were not allowed.       
    sometimes  the sluice  would  close 
 entirely,  and  the  river  at the  dams 
 foot would  dry  up, revealing the rocky 
 water  garden  that  had   been   hidden 
 beneath, and  we would go there.     
        before the dam opened  again, 
 there  would be a signal, but the  elves 
 would  make us not hear it, and suddenly 
 we would find the  water rising, already 
 at  our knees.               
                      
   by then the  elves would  be  gone.