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.