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.