The document tells a story about various animals - Bob the bobcat, Lucky the duck, Boo-Boo the bear, and Ralph the wolf - who each live alone in different parts of the forest and admire the sound of their own voices. One day, a flood forces them to higher ground on a hill where Jack and Jill live. This is the first time the animals meet each other. They argue about which of their voices is most beautiful until Jack and Jill tell them they sound best together harmonizing. The animals then work together to create music. Jack and Jill also have further adventures transforming the animals into a rock band and having psychedelic experiences.

1. A Tall
Tangram
Tale
by
Carl Mahlmann
A Tall Tangram Tale:
a High School
Geometry Class Textbook
Tangram Illustrations
retrieved from:
http://www.clipartbest.com/

2. nce upon a time,
nestled in a valley
In the center of this forest
sat a small hill. On top of
this hill sat a small house.
In this house sat (and
sometimes stood, or even
laid down once in awhile),
a boy and his sister.
Their names were Jack
and Jill.
next to a lake in a land
far, far away, there grew
a beautiful green forest.
Using your tangram puzzle pieces,
build copies of the pictures of
Jack, Jill, and their house.

3. In the forest, there also
lived many animals. One
of these animals was a
bobcat named … well …
Bob. (What else?) Bob
lived alone in the
northern part of the
forest, and didn’t have
anyone to talk to except
himself. Since Bob never
got to hear anyone else’s
voice except his own, he
thought that his purring
was the most beautiful
sound he’d ever heard,
and he would purr to
himself all the time.
Using your tangram puzzle pieces,
build a copy of Bob’s picture.

4. The thing was, there were
other animals living in
other parts of the forest,
each of whom lived alone,
and thought the same
thing about themselves.
There was a Duck named
Lucky, for instance, who
lived alone in the
southern part of the
forest. Since her own
voice was the only one
she’d ever heard, Lucky
thought her quacking was
the most beautiful sound
in all the world, and she
would quack to herself all
the time.
Using your tangram puzzle pieces,
build a copy of Lucky’s picture.

5. Then there was Boo-Boo
Bear, who lived alone in
the eastern part of the
forest. Since her own
voice was the only one
she’d ever heard, Boo-
Boo thought her growling
was the most beautiful
sound in the world, and
she would growl to herself
all the time.
Using your tangram puzzle pieces,
build a copy of Boo-Boo’s picture.

6. Finally, there was a Wolf
named Ralph (he was an
oddball…), who lived
alone in the western part
of the forest. Since his
own voice was the only
one he’d ever heard,
Ralph thought his howling
was the most beautiful
sound in the world, and
he would howl to himself
all the time.
Using your tangram puzzle pieces,
build a copy of Ralph’s picture.

7. Each of these animals
lived in different parts of
the forest, singing to
themselves for a very long
time, admiring the sounds
of their own voices. Then,
one day, there came a
terrible rain. The lake
overflowed with all the
rain. Each of the animals
ran from the flood to
higher ground – which
happened to be the hill
upon which Jack and
Jill lived in the center of
the forest.
This was the very first
time the animals found
someone else with whom
they could speak. Bob
was the first to introduce
himself, purring: “Hi, I’m
Bob, and I have the most
beautiful voice in the
world.”
Lucky responded: “Hi,
Bob, I’m Lucky, and it’s
nice to meet you… but I

8. take exception to what
you just said about your
voice. I’ve been listening
to myself quack for a very
long time, and I happen
to know that my voice is
the most wonderful sound
in the world.”
Boo-Boo growled: “Hey,
guys, I’m Boo-Boo, and I
hate to disagree the very
first time we’ve met, but I
happen to know for a fact
that my growling is the
most gorgeous sound in
the whole world.”
Ralph howled: “Well, I’m
Ralph, and I just have to
tell you you’re all wrong…
my howling is the best
sound in the world.”
The animals proceeded to
argue with each other:
Bob purring perturbedly,
Lucky quacking
querimoniously, Boo-Boo
growling grievously, and
Ralph howling loudly.

9. And Jill said: “Hi, I’m Jill.”
Then Jack said: “My
sister and I have lived
alone in this house for a
very long time, with only
each other with whom to
speak.”
And Jill said: “And we
just agreed that what we
just heard coming from
our front yard is the
most beautiful sound
we’ve ever heard in our
entire lives.”
(He was an oddball…)
The arguing continued for
several minutes.
Jack and Jill, in the
meantime, had been in
their house, listening
intently to the noise in
their front yard. After a
few minutes, and after
speaking with each other,
they went outside to meet
the animals who were
arguing in their front yard.
Jack said: “Hi, I’m Jack.”

10. Finally, Ralph said:
“You’re all nuts, they’re
no doubt referring to my
nice howling.” (He was an
oddball…)
But Jack and Jill both
responded at the same
time: “No, no, no! We’re
talking about all of you
together! The harmonies
you create when you use
your voices together are
just wonderful!”
From that day on, the
Bob said: “Thank you.
You’re obviously
referring to my perfect
purring.”
But Lucky said: “You still
don’t know what you’re
talking about. It’s clear
they’re talking about my
quality quacking.”
To which Boo-Boo
replied: “You’re both
crazy, they’re definitely
referring to my gratifying
growling.”

11. animals no longer argued
over which of their voices
was best. Instead, they
worked together to
produce the best sound
they could as a group.
Jack went on to fetch a
pail of water on his hill
one day, but fell down
and broke his crown.
Jill did not tumble after.
Instead, Jill, having
become the sole occupant
of the house, converted it
into a music studio,
became the manager of
the singing quartet, and
the driving force behind
their transformation from
-The End -
- Epilogue -

12. an a cappella group into a
rock & roll band. Having
gotten caught up in the
drug culture of the music
world at the time, she
began experimenting with
LSD. During one of her
“trips,” thinking it was an
extraterrestrial spaceship
come to pick her up from
Earth and bring her to
Heaven, Jill stared directly
into the sun for several
minutes. Driven mad by
the experience, Jill shaved
her head, changed her
name to Britney, and
became a pop star in her
own right. Today, she is
the idol of millions of
similarly-crazy teen-aged
girls, and the object of
even more millions of
teen-aged boys’ fantasies.*
Bob, Lucky, Boo-Boo
and Ralph became the
rock band known as “The

13. You,” “Howlin’ After
Midnight,” and “I Want
to Hold Your Paw.”
Animals.” They recorded
many hits during the 60s,
including “House of the
Rising Sun” and “We’ve
Gotta Get Out of this
Place” (both of which
were inspired by their
experiences on Jill’s Hill),
as well as some lesser-
known songs – most
notably from their early
album “Tangram Tunes”
– such as: “The Bobcat
Bop,” “Quacky-Breaky
Heart,” “Boo-Boo, I Love