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| Soda pop vending machine at the Nashville Zoo, TN. Photo taken by Laura Moody. |
My mother and I were perusing through her teaching materials as I prepared for my next tutoring session with my student. I was pleasantly surprised when a well-preserved mimeograph machine page titled "The A B C's of the Zoo" appeared, complete with my name at the top written in my own elementary penmanship.
I do not know who originally wrote the piece but it is "catchy" and melodic as one might presume a 1970's poem to be. :)
I attached web site links to the names of some of the animals. Some feature non-profit organizations that are working to preserve the creatures while encouraging awareness of their existence. Enjoy!
A is for the Alligator with a mouth so big.
B is for the Beaver, who likes to build and dig.
C is for the Camel with a hump upon his back.
D is for the Duck who always goes quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack.
E is for the Elephant, the biggest one is he.
F is for the Fox, he's just as smart as he can be.
G is for the Giraffe, with a neck that's oh, so long.
H is for Hippopotamus, so big and fat and strong.
I is for the Ibex, he's a cousin to the goat.
J is for the Jaguar with spots upon his coat.
K is for the Kangaroo, he's from the land Down Under.
L is for the Lion, the king whose roar is just like thunder.
M is for the Monkey, he's the cutest little thing.
N is for the Nightingale who always likes to sing.
O is for the Ostrich, he hides his head in the sand.
P is for the Pelican, his bill holds more than his belly can.
Q is for the Quail who has a little bitty tail.
R is for the Rabbit he's swifter than a gale.
S is for the Skunk, to tease him is to bungle.
T is for the Tiger he's the terror of the jungle.
U is for the Unau, an animal from Brazil. [NOTE: There must have been a typo (common with carbon copy creations) by the author as the original word for "U" on this line was "urno" but I found no such record for an animal with this name. I altered the list to include the animal Unau which fits the description. :)]
V is for the Vulture always waiting for the kill.
W is for Wolf, a mean and heartless cur.
X is for the Xerus with a tail of fluffy fur.
Just two more letters and this story will be told.
Y is for the Yellowtail, a fish that's painted gold.
Just one more letter then class will be dismissed.
Z is for the Zebra, the last one on the list.
Additionally, here is an excerpt from The Holy Bible, NIV version, Genesis 1, verses 20 - 25.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Have a wonderful day!
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