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.