Dual language stories | Stories in a Sip

1 Hippos for Sale - Ippopotami in vendita

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© 2025 - Timothy D. Capehart

I have hippos for sale,
and they don't come cheap.
Hippos for sale! But the price ain't that steep.
Don't ask where I got them.
The deal was pretty shady.
Come on and buy one.
Get one for your lady.
They have hundreds of uses
around the house and home.
They work wonders as plumb bobs
or as weights on metronomes.
If you put them in the ice box
and drop one in your tea,
they'll keep it cold as winter.
Just try it and you'll see.
If you fill one up with helium
and tie it to a string,
you'll have a nifty balloon
fit for emperors and kings.
When heated past the boiling point
they'll keep your house real warm.
They'll even keep you toasty
in the midst of winter storms.
I've heard they make good bookends
and rings and paperweights.
Buy two or twelve or twenty
or six hundred forty eight!
They make impressive furniture
as stools and chairs and couches.
Hey, I won't sell to anyone
not fools or dips or slouches.
They can help you with your homework,
keep your room neat as a pin.
Everyone is buying one.
To pass this up would be a sin.
The movie stars and senators
who know what life's about
just can't get enough of them.
They've almost bought me out.
They're becoming quite the thing to own
these hippopotami.
Who's got the brains among you
to see it's time to buy?
I'm not hawkin' lions,
or caribou or quail.
I've only got one animal,
that's HIPPOS FOR SALE!

© 2025 - Timothy D. Capehart

Ho ippopotami in vendita,
e non costano poco.
Ippopotami in vendita!
Ma il prezzo non è un gioco.
Non chieder dove li ho presi.
L’operazione era appetitosa.
Vieni a comprarne uno.
Prendilo per la tua sposa.
Hanno centinaia di usi
in casa e fuori.
Fanno meraviglie come fili a piombo
o come pesi per accessori.
Se li metti nel congelatore
e ne usi uno nel tè,
lo terranno freddo come l'inverno.
Prova e vedrai che effetto c’è.
Se ne riempi uno di elio
e lo leghi ad un piombino,
avrai un palloncino
adatto ad un re o a un bambino.
Se scaldati oltre il punto di ebollizione
la casa molto calda avrai.
Ti terranno elettrizzato
nelle tempeste invernali, lo vedrai.
Ho sentito che fanno da fermalibri
e anelli e fermacarte.
Comprane due, dodici o venti
o seicentoquarantotto, se hai arte!
Fanno da mobile, impressionanti
come sgabelli, sedie e sofà.
Ehi! non vendo a chiunque,
non agli sciocchi né ai fannulloni
o a chi ci fa.
Possono aiutarti con i compiti,
a tener pulita la tua stanza.
Tutti ne stanno comprando uno.
Perdere l’occasione è una mancanza.
Le star del cinema ed i senatori
che sanno cosa conta nella vita,
non ne hanno mai abbastanza.
Mi hanno quasi esaurita.
Stanno diventando un vero must
questi ippopotami di sanguemisto.
Chi ha il cervello tra voi per capire
che è ora di fare un buon acquisto?
Non sto vendendo leoni,
o caribù o quaglie.
Ho solo un animale,
sono IPPOPOTAMI IN VENDITA,
non minutaglie!

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Picture by Laura ©

2 Where’s My Finger - Dov’è il mio dito

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© 2025 - Laura A. Ferrabino

Oh, where are you, cursed Finger?
I've searched for you everywhere—just under any pillow, linger.
Vanished like that, without a trace,
you've left me here, with a frown on my face.

Through pillows and sheets I’ve turned and tossed,
but of my fingertip, there’s no sign—it’s lost!
The soul might do without it,
but I DO WANT YOU back, Finger! No doubt about that!

Has it vanished, gone on vacation?
Or maybe got lost, in some unknown location?
But is it really mine? Or is it an intruder?
A sneaky Finger? A sly accuser?

Maybe you ended up in the kitchen confusion,
amidst pots and pans, divine conclusion!
Or maybe, you ran off to the garden,
to chase a balloon, so light and unburdened.

But I wait for you, I call from afar.
Without you, Finger, there's no star!
Maybe you've decided to take a year
away from me, on an island... or, well, maybe near!

If you find it, please bring it back—
without it, I can’t even snack!
My beloved Finger, come back to me,
because without you, I dunno what to be!

But then on the table, I spot a piece,
I stand there stunned, my heart's throbbing, won't cease.
I picked it up, with hesitation,
to reattach it or not, what a bad situation!

In the end I decided,
with a bit of glue,
to reattach the Finger.
I watch it... it holds true!

The lost fingertip, then, was found somewhere.
With a flake of adhesive, it was fixed above there.
Now it's here in its place, firm and bold,
and my smile has returned, confident and gold.

What a strange adventure, what an endless story,
this daring nursery rhyme, full of glory.
But rest assured, there's no more mystery:
I promise here and now, it's truly history!

© 2025 - Laura A. Ferrabino

Dove sei, dito maledetto,
che ti cerco ovunque, anche nel letto.
Svanito nel nulla, senza un preavviso,
mi hai lasciata qui, senza sorriso.

Tra cuscini e lenzuola ho rovistato,
ma del mio dito nessuna traccia ho trovato.
L'anima forse ne può fare a meno,
ma io ti rivoglio, dito, intero e pieno!

È sparito, andato in vacanza?
Oppure si è perso... dentro una stanza?
Ma è davvero mio? O è un intruso?
Un dito ignoto? Un falso accuso!

Forse... è finito in cucina
tra pentole e piatti, confusione divina!
O magari è scappato in giardino,
a giocare a rincorrere un palloncino.

Ma io lo aspetto, lo chiamo a distanza.
Senza di te, dito, non c'è sostanza!
Forse ha deciso di prendersi un anno
lontano da me, su un’isola… o forse a Locarno!

Se lo trovi, per cortesia, fallo tornare,
che senza di lui, oltretutto, non so cucinare. Dito mio adorato, torna da me,
senza son persa, lo sai anche te!

Ma poi sul tavolo ne scorgo un pezzetto,
di sasso rimango col cuore in petto.
L'ho preso, con esitazione,
riattaccarlo o no, la decisione!

Alla fine, ho deciso.
Con un po' di colla,
di riattaccare il dito,
l’osservo... non molla!

Un dito perduto e poi ritrovato,
con un po' di adesivo, è stato aggiustato.
Ora è qui, al suo posto, ben saldo,
e il mio sorriso è tornato spavaldo.

Che avventura strana, che storia infinita, questa filastrocca alquanto ardita.
Ma state tranquilli, non c'è più mistero:
prometto qui ed ora, è finita davvero!

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rhymes

rhymes

1 Hippos for Sale - Ippopotami in vendita

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2 Where’s My Finger - Dov’è il mio dito

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