Excerpt
…For the first time in a couple days the hippo could see he was now shelved in some kind of storage area lined with shelves full of colorful animals.
Most, if not all the other stuffed animals sported fancy gold-dipped tags pierced through their ears, their hats, their clothing in the shape of hearts, circles and every shape imaginable. The hippo was fascinated by the way their names evoked a certain toughness, without even knowing the animals, names like “Lightning” and “Storm Runner” and “Sting Rae.”
Some of them even had their birthdates listed, highlighting interesting details surrounding their special day like, Pelican Pete, “Born on a boat, in the high seas, September 22, 1999.” It was however, these very animals he admired and wished he could befriend, who laughed and teased the apricot-colored, nameless hippo. Lightening the brown horse laughed at him calling out, “Hippo-hips, hippo-hips, with goofy-eyes and big fat lips!”
Scruffy the Alley Cat annoyed him calling out, “Hey, peaches!”
The animals’ name-calling made him feel so sad he couldn’t take one more day of their teasing, but he didn’t know what to do. The next day, a young couple arrived carrying armloads of oversized white boxes, lots of tape rolls, shipping labels, stickers and began plucking the toys and animals off the shelves, packing them into the large containers. For a moment, the hippo wished they’d pick and pack him away too, but he already knew no one wanted a tag-less, nameless hippo.
However, when Scruffy, both a perpetual pest and opportunist, noticed the workers had left the door open, he began scheming his great escape. “Peaches. What do you think it’ll take?” He nudged the hippo, pointing down at the piles of cardboard boxes and continued, “I say two short hops over those sealed boxes over by the lady, one long jump down––and I’m out the door.” He leaned down from his ledge, patting the hippo on the shoulder, “I’ve seen enough of this place––see you on the outside pal,” he yowled.
Then, the most extraordinary thing happened. As the cat stepped to the end of the shelf, preparing for his “freedom jump,” the shelf wobbled under his shifting weight causing the cat to loose his balance. The cat tried to correct his fall, but all he accomplished with all his twisting and turning in midair, was to knock the hippo off his roost and into a five foot fall: altering the hippo’s life––forever.

For when the hippo hit the floor he bounced off the open boxes, then rolled to a complete stop and into full view of the man who was heading back to grab another box. He noticed the hippo, scooped him up and without even looking for a tag or a defect he tossed the hippo into the toy pile Gail, his co-worker was filling, the boxes heading to Big Roger’s Games, Toys, and Amusement Supplies. And, just like that, the apricot-colored hippo’s life changed.


This is the end of the Story Preview Edition
The entire book will be released on 6/15/14.

The remaining five Story Preview Edition, Collector Cards are below, including brief passages from the story as they pertains each card, information, and puzzles about the upcoming full version of Harley Hippo & the Crane Game. http://www.HarleyHippo.com


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