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.