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.