140 items in this section. Displaying page 5 of 14
Why Do Rabbits have Buck Teeth?
What is it that makes every child remember Bugs Bunny? Its toothy smile of course! All rabbits have huge buck teeth in front, and with good reason. Being vegetarians they have to make a meal of leaf, grass, or vegetable. The plants, on their part, are very smart. Over a period of time they have developed ways of protecting their leaves from such animals, for they need leaves to make their own food. Why Do Rabbits have Buck Teeth?...
Jumbo House
Quick, quick, quick Lay a brick, brick, brick Make it stick stick stick. You know whose house it is? Of Jumbo the kid, kid, kid That’s why it’s so big, big, big. Do you know what will happen IF even one brick comes loose – and Jumbo trips on that brick? Jumbo House [Illustration by Shinod AP] Jumbo will take apart every brick, brick, brick He’ll make it quick, quick, quick!...
The Cloud That Refused To Cry
It was a stifling hot day in the second week of June and the animals of Jhilmil forest were miserable. The bumblebees no longer droned but sighed. A tail heavy with perspiration made Billori, the squirrel, sit sadly on a patch of dry earth, as hard as a turtle’s hide. The Cloud That Refused To Cry [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli] In another corner of the forest, just outside his cave, was Gabru the lion, his tongue hanging out....
Where is the Rare Blind Dolphin Found?
What comes to mind at the mention of Varanasi? The peals of temple bells in this ancient pilgrim town; people performing puja at the ghats and elsewhere; bodies being cremated at the banks of the river Ganga. Do dolphins come to mind? Dolphins?! That happy looking performing artist which looks more like a shiny inflated balloon toy? Yes, and this freshwater dolphin is a rare specie, found in Indian and Pakistan – in the Ganga and in the Indus....
The Cool Firefly
Firefly is just a name. They are actually very cool insects. And they are not even flies, they are beetles. They have a way of sending out light signals every now and then. If you see them at night on a tree, you might think it is a brightly lit Christmas tree. That is the kind of light these fireflies produce. But the light they send out does not have heat, like the bulbs we use....
Killing a Tree Softly
How does a tree die? When it is cut down with an axe. But, sometimes, we may end up hurting or killing a tree without meaning to. It may happen when we carve our names or draw a heart on a tree trunk by cutting away the bark of the tree with a knife. For, along with the bark we also cut away an important tissue called phloem. This tissue carries the food made by the leaves to the other parts of the tree....
When the Earth and Sky were Married
A Muria folk tale from Orissa retold from ‘When the World was Young’, by Verrier Elwin. The book is a fascinating collection of folktales from the tribal peoples of India. Elwin was a pioneering anthropologist; he spent his entire life getting to know the ways of life of the tribal peoples. People around the world have different ways of explaining how the earth came to be the way it is: the sky above, the earth below....
How did the Teddy Bear Get Its Name?
It was party time for the 40 giant teddy bears. They had succeeded in achieving what most fashion conscious people in the world would give their right arm and eye for: a party dress made by the most famous couturiers or dress designers on earth. And it was all for a grand auction in the tiny principality of Monaco, in Europe. On October 15, world celebrities, both rich and famous vied to make the highest bid for each of the 40 giant stuffed teddies so that their money could be donated to a charitable cause....
Do Aphasics Make Great Lie Detectors?
Believe it or not but it is true. There are people who lose the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage. But they become extremely good at something else. They become experts at spotting liars. By the changing expressions of people’s faces and the tone of their voice they can make out lies from truth. The condition in which people lose their power to understand or words due to brain damage is called aphasia....
The Cat and the Cartoon
The mouse in the movie came out of the hole The cat watching the TV gave a low growl There were no more mice in the house She had seen to that Cartoons are so cruel, the tabby thought Why should they make me dream of the meals I no more have? The Cat and the Cartoon [Illustration by Shinod AP]