Kids attempts at finishing the sentence!

This list is apparently true - and funny to boot! This one will be enjoyed by the parents as well as the kids!

1. Better to be safe than ___

...punch a 5th grader.

2. Strike while the ___

...bug is close.

3. It's always darkest before ___

... Daylight Saving Time.

4. No news is ___

...impossible.

5. A miss is as good as a ___

...mister.

6. You can't teach an old dog new ___

...math.

7. If you lie down with dogs, you'll ___

...stink in the morning.

8. Love all, trust ___

...me.

9. The pen is mightier than the ___

...pigs.

10. An idle mind is ___

...the best way to relax.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Chocolate Toothpaste

Chocolate Toothpaste

Dear Kids,

I read a nice piece on Chocolate being good for teeth (so much so, that researchers are claiming that it is possibly better than fluoride as an ingredient in toothpaste!

I read this first in Economic Times, a newspaper that your daddy probably reads, but didn't believe it. When I did a Google Search, I found this stuff! May be in the years to come, we can all enjoy chocolate first thing in the morning. Your mom will then not have to struggle to make you brush your teeth!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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The link: http://www.primidi.com/2007/05/25.html Chocolate toothpaste? According to a short article from Tulane University Magazine, chocolate toothpaste is better than fluoride. This article doesn't offer lots of details, but has been widely taken up online. It simply states that a researcher found that an extract of cocoa powder "whose chemical makeup is similar to caffeine, helps harden teeth enamel, making users less susceptible to tooth decay." If this research is serious, a toothpaste using this cocoa extract could be available at your local drugstore within five years. There have been previous attempts to sell chocolate flavoured toothpaste. But these toothpastes were just for fun, and the cavity-fighting component was still fluoride. And there are good reasons to keep it. In "Is Chocolate Good For You?," the BBC website describes a previous attempt to use cocoa to fight tooth cavities. Chocolate could help prevent tooth decay, according to scientists at Japan's Osaka University. The husks of the cocoa beans from which chocolate is made contain an antibacterial agent that fights plaque. These husks are usually discarded in chocolate production, but in future they could be added back in to chocolate to make it dental-friendly. They concluded that the cavity-fighting action of cocoa bean husks isn't enough to offset decay caused by chocolate's high sugar content, however, so chocolate isn't going to replace toothpaste any time soon. Has this balance between pros and cons of chocolate toothpaste changed? The Tulane University isn't very talkative about this. Here are some excerpts. According to Tulane University doctoral candidate Arman Sadeghpour an extract of cocoa powder that occurs naturally in chocolates, teas, and other products might be an effective natural alternative to fluoride in toothpaste. In fact, his research revealed that the cocoa extract was even more effective than fluoride in fighting cavities. The extract, a white crystalline powder whose chemical makeup is similar to caffeine, helps harden teeth enamel, making users less susceptible to tooth decay. The cocoa extract could offer the first major innovation to commercial toothpaste since manufacturers began adding fluoride to toothpaste in 1914. The extract has been proven effective in the animal model, but it will probably be another two to four years before the product is approved for human use and available for sale, Sadeghpour says.

Only monks can know!

Hi Kids!

You've not heard from me for a couple of days now. Here's something cute for you:

Enjoy reading!

Uncle N

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A man is driving down the road and breaks down near a monastery. He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the night?

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The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fix his car.

As the man tries to fall > > asleep, he hears a strange sound. The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, We can't tell you. You're not a monk.

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The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way. Some yea! rs later, the same man breaks down in front of the same monastery.

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The monks gain accept him, feed him, and even fix his car.

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That night, he hears the same strange noise that he had heard years earlier.

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The next morning, he asks what it is, but the monks reply, We can't tell you. You're not a monk.

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The man says, All right, all right. I'm dying to know. If the only way I can find out what that sound was, is to become a monk, how do I become a monk?

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The monks reply, You must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles.
When you find these numbers, you will become a monk.

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The man sets about his task. Some forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery. He says, I have traveled the earth and have found what you have asked for. There are
145,236,284,232 blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth.

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The monks reply, Congratulations. You are now a monk. We shall now show you the way to the sound.

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The monks lead the man to a wooden door, where the head monk says, The sound is right behind that door.

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Th! e man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He says, Real funny. May I have the key?

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The monks give him the key, and he opens the door.

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Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone. The man demands the key to the stone door.

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The monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby. He demands another key from the monks, who provide it. Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire. So it went until the man had gone through doors of emerald,....

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.......silver, topaz, and amethyst.

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Finally, the monks say, This is the last key to the last door.

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The man is relieved to no end. He unlocks the door, turns the knob,
and behind that door he is amazed to find the source of that
strange sound.

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. . . . But I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk

ps: Pl don't try to chase me all over, because I'm still chasing the guy who sent me this mail!!!

Uncle N

The Pious Tiger

The Wily Tiger

Here is a story of a tricky tiger.

Once upon a time, a wily tiger was too old to catch his prey. But he was quite hungry and did not know what to do. He thought and thought, and got a nice idea:

He killed an elderly woman who was passing by, and kept her golden bangle after eating her.

The next day, he kept calling loudly, "Oh friends! Come and take this gold bangle. I've started doing tapas and want to donate all my worldly belongings!"

A traveler heard this call, so he approached the tiger and asked from a distance, "Where is the gold bangle?"

The old wily tiger showed the gold bangle in his paws. The traveler said he dared not come near him who used to be a man-eater......

Then the wily old tiger preached him a sermon as follows, "In my younger days I used to kill and eat human beings because I was not fortunate enough to listen to the Dharma. As I grew older and lost my wife and children. I really felt sorry for all the bad things that I did. Around that time I happened to meet with a noble Swamiji who taught me to live a virtuous life and to start doing only good things. Since then I have been living a strictly righteous life. You have nothing to be afraid of. I am harmless. See, I don't even have claws and fangs. I have resolved to give this gold bangle to someone as charity, and you are the lucky one. Go bathe in the lake and come accept my gift."

Believing these persuasive words, the traveler did what he was told. When he stepped into the lake he sank into the swamp. Saying that he would help him, the tiger came and killed the traveler and ate him up!

Moral of the story: There will be lots of people who will be preaching things - Don't listen to all of that - Believe only in what trustworthy people like your parents, teachers, etc. say and don't blindly listen to strangers!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Inviting more readers to this blog

Hi friends,

I've just sent a bunch of invitations to some of my close friends and relatives to enable them to view this blog.

Hope you like the contents of this blog. Do get back to me at the earliest:

Awaiting your valuable

• feedback
• suggestions
• stories
• bouquets
• brickbats
• puzzles
• contributions
• jokes
• comments
• queries
• doubts
• inputs

etc. to add value to this blog!

If you feel that any other person should have access to this blog at this stage, do send me his/her name and email ID to enable me to invite them.

Uncle N

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The Bad Lion and the Wise Deer

The Bad Lion and the Wise Deer

(While I've known this story from the time I was a young child, I happened to see this piece in the net attributed to one Mr. Jem Lim)

Once there lived a hungry, bad lion who ruled a far-away jungle. He scared the animals in the forest and ordered them to bring him food everyday. In return, he promised he would not kill any one of them and would keep all animals safe from his clutches. The smaller and helpless jungle animals had no choice but to agree.

One day, a young deer went to the lion's den to give his offering. The young deer brought the lion a huge meat enough for a feast. The bad lion was still not satisfied that he craved for more. The bad lion wanted to taste the deer's meat and eat him whole. The wise young deer thought of better ways to escape from the bad lion. He said that on his way to the bad lion's den, he met another mighty lion.

"Not far from here, I met a mighty lion and he claimed to be the King! And this mighty lion said he wants to meet you my lord!" the deer said.

The furious bad lion said, "So do I! I want to know the impostor!"

The young deer took the bad lion to a river and said, "Meet the mighty lion, my lord." The angry bad lion immediately jumped to the river attacking its reflection.

The bad lion didn't know that the water was deep and got drowned.

The young deer ended the rule of the bad lion in the jungle.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Answer - For the problem of Birbal and the one-eyed "Bad man"

Answer - For the problem of Birbal and the one-eyed "Bad man"

Calmly, Birbal stated, "I am ready for that, if you believe that I will not be burnt, but the same should apply to you also. If you aren't lying, the hot iron should not burn your hands either. So, you can kindly bring that red hot iron, holding it in both of your hands, and then give it to me to hold it."

The speechless man quickly told the judge he would search in his house again, bowed, left, and never lied against Birbal again.

Answer - For the question of the clean stuff that is black and dirty when it is white: "Black Board"

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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The dhobi, his dog and the donkey

The dhobi, his dog and the donkey

Once upon a time, there lived a dhobi (A man who washes other people's clothes for earning his livelihood) in a village. He had a donkey and a dog as his pets. The dog guarded his master's house and accompanied him wherever he went. The donkey used to carry the load of clothes. The dhobi loved his dog very much. And the dog, whenever, he saw his master, would bark a little and wag his tail. He would raise his front legs and put them on the chest of his master. And the dhobi would pat his dog in return, for his loving gesture.

This made the donkey jealous of the dog's fate. He cursed his iII-fate; 'What a bad luck I've. My master doesn't love me in spite of my putting in hard labour. Now, I must do what this dog does to please my master.'

So, the next time, when he saw his master coming, he ran towards him. He brayed a little and tried to wag his tail. He raised his front legs and put them on his master's body.

The dhobi got frightened to see his donkey's abnormal behaviour. He thought that the donkey might have gone crazy. So he picked up a lathi and beat up the donkey till it fell on the ground.

Hence, dear children, don't be jealous of other people and imitate them! You may end up with disappointment.

Watch out for Part II of the Dhobi, his dog and the donkey!!!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Tenali Raman Brings up a Cat!

Tenali Raman Brings up a Cat for Krishna Deva Raya!

Once in the city ruled by Krishna Deva Raya, there came an epidemic due to rats. The situation was similar to the case of "Pied Piper of Hamelin". Rats were everywhere. They were eating all the books belonging to children. They started making holes in wooden shelves. Sometimes they even nibbled the ears of little girls. But there was no Pied Piper to save the city.

Unfortunately, there were so many rats in the city but very few cats. So the king asked every house in the city to grow cats. But cats need milk to drink. Most of the houses did not have cows. So the king gave cows to every house and asked them to grow them too. All people were happy and used to give the cats a lot of milk to drink.

Except one - Tenali Raman.

He was not only a lazy man, but also greedy enough to sell all the milk. Hence, the first day he boiled the milk and poured it in a pan. He gave the piping hot milk to the cat. The cat, which was hungry came and sipped the milk from the pan. Since the milk was hot it burnt its mouth. The cat ran away. The next day and the next Tenali Raman did the same thing. After a few days he stopped giving milk to the cat and started selling it off.

Tenali Raman's cat was lean and hungry and all other cats were stout and happy. One day the king wanted to see all the cats given by him and give prize to the best maintained cat. He was wild with Tenali Raman for not taking care of his cat properly. He asked him to explain the reason.

Then Tenali Raman told the king that he was not to be blamed, since his cat did not drink any milk. The king wanted to put Tenali Raman in Jail for telling a lie and wanted him to prove what he said.

Then Tenali Raman asked the King to give milk to the cat all by himself, as he did not believe Tenali's words. The king brought a nice small bowl of milk and kept it in front of the cat. On seeing the milk, the cat immediately started screaming and screeching and ran away. The king pitied Tenali Raman and not only let him away, but also gave him another cat and an extra cow to give milk for the new cat!

The clever Tenali Raman lived happily forever after!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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