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.