Book Description

This credible, biologically possible, fantasy follows the education of a small, multi-colored, English speaking hippo-like creature which is befriended by an American family with twin children, who live on an island in the Canadian Pacific Northwest. Concealing it from the authorities, they try to find out what it is, where it came from, why it is colored and how it can talk, with the help first of a vet and subsequently a zoologist. Meanwhile, with help from the children, the creature's education has proceeded apace. After it becomes computer literate with a special mouse and learns to play chess, the full extent of its incredible intelligence becomes apparent. Worried that the Agriculture Department has become suspicious, they arrange for a successful outing with the help of a broadcaster, setting up a Scientific Foundation to study the animal, under government auspices. The Foundation starts to work to try and discover the mechanism for the animals incredible intelligence and fast-learning ability, only to encounter violence from religious fundamentalists who believe that the it must be a creature of the devil.