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.