Our ancestors were busy people All across our blue green earth Building pyramids, temples and cities From the Andes to Kuwait
The Egyptians used beer to buy things The Mayans mastered astronomy Roman vomitariums were not for vomiting But theatre exits if you please
Neanderthals were built like wrestlers They were strong and wild and free! The Aztecs played deadly ball games The loser died, the winner lived happily
The oldest letter of complaint Is over 4000 years old Nanni the Mesopotamian was upset With the copper he had been sold
Did you know Cleopatra was not Egyptian She was in fact quite Greek The Chinese had invented toilet paper While the Europeans still used leaves!
Human beings have always loved music The oldest flute is from the ice age The Stonehenge stones are so big Each weighs as much as a blue whale
Egyptian gods had human bodies and animal heads They were quite an awesome sight! A Vikingâs old poo was found in 1972 Ancient poop is called Coprolite
Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt The fertile Indus River Valley The ancient Chinese, the Inca, the Aztecs These civilizations make up our history.
âGet in line now, donât dawdle!â Comes the serious sounding voice Itâs the god of the underworld making sure The spirits donât make any noise
Hades the god of the underworld Likes his land to be quiet and dark Cerebrus, his three-headed dog agrees With three separate growls and one bark
Hades which means âthe unseen oneâ Has a power no other god shares His Helmet of Darkness makes him invisible He can pounce on anyone anywhere
Prayers and sacrifices do very little This mighty god is not swayed If someone enters the spirit world Then that is where they will stay
The bad spirits are punished by him They carry big stones on their heads The good ones get to swim in the Styx And float back into comfy beds
Hades loves just one person most Persephone his wife He kidnapped her while she picked flowers And now lives by his side
You can sometimes hear the rustle Of Hades and his three-headed dog Roaming around on a still night When darkness cloaks the world.
Known as a trickster from the time he was born When he was just four days old in his crib Hermes stole Apolloâs sacred sheep With a crawl, a jump and a skip
Hermes grew up to be a messenger To the gods; they now send Him on adventurous trips between The worlds of gods and men
Magical winged sandals carry him At fast as lightning speeds One moment he is in front of you The other moment on Mercury
When he is not carrying messages He is busy making things The sweet sounding lyre, the first ever fire The dice and even writing
Hermes helped his brother Perceus Kill Medusa and her wriggly snakes The brothers fought bravely together There really was no room for mistakes
The messenger of gods also protects All travellers - merchants and thieves Schoolboys and schoolgirls, fathers and mothers Are all watched over by Hermes
In all this delivering, protecting and fighting Hermes still finds time to play This master of fun, when he fools someone You can hear him laughing away.
Known as the blacksmith of the gods Hephaestus controls fire He can mould metals into any shapes And things that he desires
This god of fire can also breathe life Into all his metal creations Heâs made two golden ladies who help him They are both quite a sensation!
His workshops are many, countless in fact Every volcano has one, we are told He and his maidens make knickknacks and weapons Of bronze and silver and gold
The tools that Heaphestus uses to build Fabulous things in his workshop Are also his symbols of magic and power The hammer, the anvil and tongs
Some say heâs married to Aphrodite The goddess of beauty and love Whether she loves him back in fact We really cannot be sure of
Hephaestus is the only god of Olympus Who is lame and canât really walk But that doesnât stop him from being A great and powerful Greek god
So next time you see a particularly Beautiful piece of metal art You will know that in some volcano Hephaestus is working hard.
The goddess of the hunt is asleep She does not walk tonight Not a leaf nor a cat, a branch or a bat Is awake or stirring outside
But there are nights and even days When the woodland is alive With the whip and whoosh and the ta-zing Of her powerful arrows in flight
Artemis protects women and girls And animals with hooves and wings It is true, that she hunts them too The animals, not the human beings!
She also has healing powers The flu, measles or the mumps Donât have a chance when sheâs around Sheâll pull you right out of the dumps
She is the goddess of nighttime Of nature, moonlight and dew She can transform into any creature She can turn you into one too!
With her silver bow she is just grand A huntress like her is rare She never ever misses her mark Be it a mean wizard or a hare
Sometimes Artemis spends time with her twin Apollo the god of music and light The woods are filled with laughter and song And barbecues through the night.
There was once a young man Well he was not quite twelve He always kept behind his ear A porcupine quill
Sometimes that quill was purple Sometimes like the sun He painted them with loving hands Our curious Quilloman
The story goes that one night while he Chased villains in his sleep A kindly witch came floating down And said âO Quilly listen to meâ
âIf you want to live nice and long And have adventures far and near You must carry a colourful quill Tucked neatly behind your earâ
And so our quirky Quill-o-Man Thought he must heed these words And that is how he collected One thousand quills Iâve heard
âO Quilloman, O Quilloman!â Everyone who passed him cried âWhy do you carry all these quills Who will you stab tonight?â
You see our oddball Quilloman Had adventures in his mind Where he roamed with his best friend Sir Lancelot the knight
Together they fought battles A lot of blood was spilled The knight fought with his lance And our hero with his quill
Then while on an adventure One medieval Wednesday Sir Lancelot lost his lance While he was stabbing away
Quilloman was so shocked He dropped his own quill too Blade-less and point-less There stood the warriors two
It is believed that was the day That turned the tide for Quilloman He stopped collecting piny quills And had pockets full of sand
Our brave Quilly continued his Madcap make-believe Surfing in his sandy bedroom In goggles and his briefs
Every few years, Quilloman hears Of how he can improve His ruddy health and his adventures And finds hobbies anew
So next time you see someone who looks Like theyâre having too much fun Surfing or flying or poking at things Youâll know youâve met Quill-o-Man.
Image: Generated via Recraft illustration software
âQUIRKY CREATURES, AN EGG, A FRUIT AND A STARâ
Putting my childrenâs-book-writer hat on for a bit to introduce my third book in the Curious Animals & Quirky Creatures series: QUIRKY CREATURES, AN EGG, A FRUIT AND A STAR. From the little bee with the huge head, to the mischievous dragonfly trying to steal ladybird’s spots, to the extra bright little firefly, there are ten little stories in this collectible about delightful and funny creatures. Every poem tells of a little act of courage, humour and kindness as each of the little creatures saves the day in its own little way.
IN SRI LANKA: The book is available at Sarasavi, Pendi, Expographics, Seyln, Barefoot and The Jam Fruit Tree bookstores.
IN PAKISTAN: It should be on the shelves in Liberty Books and Readings at the end of July 2023. It will also be available with my aunt Mrs. Nayyar Liaqat.
IN DUBAI: July onwards, you can get your copy from my sister Zarmina by sending her a WhatsApp message.
A big thank you to my illustrator, Chrish Vindhy for the beautiful artwork of the book.
Itâs been a fabulous journey with my childrenâs literature over the last 2 years with over 700 books sold. So thank you to all who have bought, read and gifted them đ Hereâs to #raisingreaders
Mahvash Mohtadullah 