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The Great Plain of Hair was subject to frequent flooding. Even a single drop of rain would produce a flash flood of drastic proportions.
The goblins who lived on the Great Plain of Hair therefore had to adapt to a way of life in which instant deluge and instant drought were a regular everyday happening. They did this by wearing shoes that could double up as boats, as well as cloaks that could also serve as sails. In this way, the constant inundations did not disturb the fabric of everyday life. Indeed, the goblins of the Great Plain of Hair became so inured to the persistent alternations between flood and aridity that they began to scarcely notice the difference anymore. And thus it became imperative to employ Hörtenz, the Water-Dipper, whose job it was to wander about the Great Plain of Hair, measuring the height of the flood with his measuring stick and calling out the depths. He would warn the goblins of the Plain, for example, not to sunbathe when the waters stood at level f, or not to do handstands until the waters had subsided down to level bII. Hörtenz's voice would ring out continually across the Great Plain of Hair and the Flood Water: "No marble playing today!" or "All is dry! All is dry! No high diving, deep sea trawling, or underwater gym today!"
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