The lovely pink flamingoes Are a very pretty sight, But many, many years ago They all were sparkling white. The flamingoes, though so pretty Were not proud, but very shy, And hid themselves away From any humans who passed by. But one small boy determined That he’d catch them unawares And crouched down in the bushes By the lake he …

How does the corn go? Pop-pop-pop. How does the knife go? Chop-chop-chop. How does the water go? Tip-tip-tip. How does the jam go? Lick-lick-lick. How does the train go? Chook-chook-chook. Let’s be quiet! Sh… sh… sh… ∼ Sanjay Ahluwalia

There once was a mouse Who set up her house In a great big chunk of cheese. And when she was hungry She broke off a bit, And never said “Thank you” or “Please”. But one fine day, As she nibbled away, She ate up her own front door. “Oh dear!” said the mouse. “Now I can’t lock my house. …

Hoppiety was a kangaroo, Like the one from London Zoo; One day he jumped into a fog, And bumped into a sausage dog. “Goodness me!” said Heinz a – barking, “This is not the time for parking.” Said Kangaroo, “The fog looks queer, But now I have a good idea.” “Why don’t you hop into my pouch? It’s as comfy …

With his home on his back, a snail crawls about, Beavers build dams to keep warm, The otter lives in a tree-root “holt,” The long-legged hare has a “form.” A “sett” is the name of the sky badger’s hole, And a fox is at home in an “earth,” Ants live in a hill, and so does a mole, They burrow …

Charles Darrow, a US citizen, invented Monopoly in 1931, during the Great Depression. Out of work, Darrow earned a living inventing puzzles and games, to sell to toy-makers. With some difficulty, he sold Monopoly to Parker Brothers on a royalty basis. The game sold so well that Darrow became a millionaire. The original game had properties named after streets, hotels, …

Phillip M Parker, an American, has written 200,000 books. He has devised computer algorithms which write text, search and do many more defined operations which have helped him write these books. Among his publications include The Official Patient’s Sourcebook on Acne Rosacea (168 pages), Stickler Syndrome: A Bibliography and Dictionary for Physicians and Sets That Measure 6-Feet by 9-Feet or …

Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1942, but his ships were not the first from Europe to reach North American coasts. It is possible that Irish monks, or a Welsh prince, had crossed the Atlantic centuries before. Their voyages, if they ever took place at all, had been forgotten, and so had the voyages the the Vikings, who had settled first …

Fiction’s most famous detective was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Born in Edinburgh in 1859 he decided to become a doctor, and it was when he was studying medicine at university that he met the man who was to later inspire him to create his most famous character. The man was his professor, Joseph Bell, who was particularly good …

Maricha, son of Sunda, an asura, assumed the form of a golden deer and ranged about the wood near the hermitage of Rama. The horns of the deer were like twin jewels and its face was piebald, its ears like two blue lotus-flowers, its sleek sides soft as the petals of a flower, its hoofs as black as jet, its …