Tikki Tikki Tembo - A Childhood Memory
A couple of weeks ago we sang "God of our Fathers, Known of Old" at family scriptures and prayer. The author of the text was Rudyard Kipling, and when we noticed that, Michelle remembered that she had recently read "Riki Tiki Tavi" in English (also by Kipling). Wayne remembered reading it as well. And that reminded me of a story that my family loved when I was a little girl, called "Tikki Tikki Tembo," and so we ended the evening by sharing that little fable. (Later, it took me a while to recall how we got on this subject, and I just thought you'd be interested in seeing how memories are triggered.)
I think one of the reasons I remember this little story so vividly is because it became the "naming source" for our family cats. We had several Siamese cats as I was growing up. The first one was named Tikki. The second one was named Tembo. We had No-Sa, and Rembo, and then Cherry. (I can't remember any more, but that doesn't mean there weren't any.)
My parents still had cats when we visited them for my sister's wedding, and the boys (well, at least Weston) enjoyed playing with them. This is Olive the Cat. I don't know if they made it all the way through "Pembo" or if they changed the naming system because it wasn't an "Oriental" cat! 
Those of you who know me know that I'm not really an animal person. So, I indulged my children's wishes for animals by baking them cakes. Weston enjoyed his 3rd birthday cake just before Aunt Louise's wedding so much, that he wanted another one when visiting Grandma and Grandpa - and he got it, complete with a candle to blow out!
I think one of the reasons I remember this little story so vividly is because it became the "naming source" for our family cats. We had several Siamese cats as I was growing up. The first one was named Tikki. The second one was named Tembo. We had No-Sa, and Rembo, and then Cherry. (I can't remember any more, but that doesn't mean there weren't any.)My parents still had cats when we visited them for my sister's wedding, and the boys (well, at least Weston) enjoyed playing with them. This is Olive the Cat. I don't know if they made it all the way through "Pembo" or if they changed the naming system because it wasn't an "Oriental" cat! Those of you who know me know that I'm not really an animal person. So, I indulged my children's wishes for animals by baking them cakes. Weston enjoyed his 3rd birthday cake just before Aunt Louise's wedding so much, that he wanted another one when visiting Grandma and Grandpa - and he got it, complete with a candle to blow out!
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