Did you know that possums can't choose when to "play dead"? If you're wondering why that is, open up Mocomi TimePass Magazine Issue 88 to learn more. Every issue has something fun for everyone. In each magazine you will find folktales, trivia, puzzles, health tips, jokes and much more!

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ISSUE 88
JUNE 29, 2020
STORY OF KING
ASHOKA THE GREAT
A TALE OF THE
SILLY MONKEYS
Interesting
facts about
the POSSum
WHO WAS
FRIDA KAHLO?

2. FOLKTALE
The Silly Monkeys
Once upon a time a king gave a holiday to all
the royal workers in his kingdom. The king’s
gardener also wanted to avail a day’s holiday
but he had to water the plants at the royal
garden. It was summer time, and he could not
leave the plants without water. He knew that if
the plants died, he would have to face the king’s
wrath. So, he thought of assigning the task of
watering the plants to someone else.
Just then he saw some monkeys having fun in
the king’s garden and got a strange idea. He
approached the chief of the monkeys and said,
“You must consider yourselves lucky to be
living in the royal garden.You get to play on the
lush green trees and eat the fresh fruits from
the garden. You must do something to show
your gratitude towards the king.” All the
monkeys were listening carefully to the
gardener. The gardener further added, “The
king has given a day’s holiday to all the royal
workers. But, I cannot go anywhere as I have to
water the plants. If you agree to water the
plants for one day, the king would be very
happy with you and I would also be able to go
out with my friends.”
The chief of the monkeys readily agreed to do
the job and said,“We shall be glad to do that for
our generous king.” The gardener gave the
watering pots to the monkeys and went away.
When the monkeys began to water the young
trees, a query popped in their mind. They asked
their chief,“How shall we know when each tree
has been given enough water?”The chief of the
monkeys scratched his head for a while and
said, “Pull up each young tree and look at the
length of its roots. Give more water to the trees
with long roots, and only a little to the ones that
have short roots.”
Then the silly monkeys uprooted all the trees of
the garden to see which trees had long roots
and which had short roots. When the gardener
came back the next day, he was taken aback to
see the deplorable condition of the royal
garden. He could do nothing but repent over
his act of foolishness.
1

3. Tommy, My Son
“Tommy, my son,”said the old tabby cat,
“Go catch us some mice, and be sure that they’re fat.
There’s one family lives in the carpenter’s barn;
They’ve made them a nest of the old lady’s yarn.
But the carpenter has a young cat of his own
That is healthy and proud and almost full grown,
And consider it, son, an eternal disgrace
To come home at night with a scratch on your face.”
2
Silly Rhymes
Find the Ten Hidden Objects in the picture

4. The biggest benefit of spending time together as a family is the development of healthy
relationship with your parents.When you know there is a window of time in the day where
you have the entirety of their parents' attention, you are more likely to communicate and
share your day. Sometimes you hesitate when you're unsure if you have your parents'
complete attention. At dinner, when the family is sitting together without the distraction
of the television and cellphones, members are more likely to communicate openly with
one another.
This healthy relationship is something to develop from a young age, as it will be beneficial
for you in the future as well – possibly becoming a habit you take up with your own fami-
lies. Being openly communicative also plays a role in making families more positive about
the future and feel more excitement towards their goals and dreams for the future.
Spending dinner time together as a family doesn't only entail listening to your parents
talk. It is your chance to be open with your parents about what is going on in your life.This
give and take of information also helps in developing listening skills; making everyone
better listeners and communicators.
By giving dinner time importance, families also reduce the number of days they choose to
eat out. Eating together every day becomes an act which is celebrated, rather than
pushed to the bottom of the "compulsory" family time pile.
The Importance of
Eating Dinner Together
Healthy Me

5. Find ten Differences
Engquiry
Why are some British and
American English Words Different?
Questions about the English Language
Which English
am I speaking?
Have you ever wondered why the spelling check on the
computer confuses you sometimes? For example, the
check may correct the word 'favour' to make it 'favour' and
you may not understand why! Did you know there are two
types of spellings in the English language? Now, you must
be thinking, "There are TWO Englishes? I've just managed
to learn one!"
But don't get too confused, British English is similar to
American English, just with a few differences. But why are
they different? Don't both countries speak English?
Before you think so, no they didn't have a fight!
You have to remember that America was once a colony of
England. When it came time to standardise their spelling,
America wanted to differentiate itself from England. In
1798, Noah Webster pushed to Americanise certain words.
Webster (does Webster's Dictionary ring a bell?) pushed to
make words more straightforward and changed them to
markAmericanindependencefromtheBritish.Hedropped
the 'u' from words like 'colour' and 'flavour' and changed
the'ise'suffixonwordslike'standardise'to'ize'.Extraletters
like the 'ue' at the end of 'catalog' were dropped as well.
British and American English also borrow words from very
different languages. For example, the leafy green herb
known as coriander in England, which is a word borrowed
fromFrench,isknownascilantro,aSpanishword,inAmeri-
ca. It is these variations in spelling and choice of words,
which can often confuse people!

6. Tickle
your
funny
bone
AMUSING NEWS
An Australian woman was con-
fused to find a surprise visitor
joining them on their evening
walk - a baby possum which had
latched on to her dog's back. The
possum was most likely an
orphan who was seeking warmth
and refuge and found it in the
soft fur of her dog's back. The
possum was eventually turned
over to Animal Services.
Baby Possum Finds a New Home
Q: What do you call a possum that
goes back for seconds on soup?
A: A more-soupial
Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Possum.
Possum who?
Possum gravy on my potatoes.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To prove to the possum it could be done.

7. Ashoka The Great
stories from history
Ashoka the Great was the emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled the
Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC. His kingdom stretched from Paki-
stan and Afghanistan in the west to Bangaldesh and Assam in the east, and as
far as Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in the East. Ashoka was headquartered in
Magadha (Bihar).
Ashoka in his younger days is said to have had a massive temper and was also
very wicked and cruel. He was also nicknamed Chand Ashoka which means
‘Ashoka the Fierce’ for having built a horrific torture chamber.
On ascending the throne, Ashoka expanded his empire to regions in Iran, Persia
and Afghanistan over the next eight years.
6

8. Kalinga - a rich and fertile land situated between the Godavari and Mahanadi
rivers was the only land left for him to conquer. The people of Kalinga refused
to bow down to Ashoka’s rule, however, they were also no match for Ashoka’s
army. It is said that in this battle alone more than 100,000 soldiers lost their
lives.
After his conquest, Ashoka, while walking through the grounds, was moved by
the number of bodies and the wails of the families of the dead. Ashoka adopt-
ed Buddhism soon after and embraced the message of love, peace and kindness
that Buddha taught. For the rest of his life, Ashoka pursued a policy of nonvi-
olence (Ahimsa). 7

9. Ashoka built many universities, water transit and irrigation systems for trade
and agriculture. He treated his subjects as equals, regardless of their religion,
politics and caste. He is also acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals
and renovating major roads throughout India.
This transformation led to people calling him Dhammashoka, meaning Ashoka,
the follower of Dharma (duty or proper behavior).
The source of our knowledge about Ashoka is the many inscriptions he had
carved on pillars and rocks throughout the empire. All his inscriptions show
compassionate loving.
After 40 years of rule, at the age of 72, in 232 BC, Ashoka breathed his last.
He left behind a legacy as an able ruler, lawmaker, hero, monk and noble preach-
er of dharma. Ashoka was the last of the great kings of the Mauryan dynasty,
which fell apart fifty years later.
8

10. The beautiful La Casa Azul was the home of iconic artist Frida Kahlo! She over-
came many challenges including polio as a child and a crippling bus accident at
the age of 18 to become one of the most celebrated Latin American artists in his-
tory. Despite these obstacles, she painted more than 150 paintings. Her mother
had a special easel built for her so she could lie in bed and paint after her accident.
She used a mirror to look at herself to paint her self portraits.
Did you know she had many pets, including monkeys, birds, dogs and a fawn – all
of which were featured in the 55 self portraits she painted. Some were exotic spe-
cies like the spider monkey and the Amazonian parrot.
Frida celebrated her Mexican heritage by wearing long and colourful skirts from
the Tehuantepec region in the state of Oaxaca.
She often struggled with her identity of being Mexican in a world which was fast
changing. Despite travelling extensively and meeting people from around the
world, Kahlo held her Mexican roots close to her heart. Her painting ‘Roots’ holds
the auction record for a Latin American piece of art. It was sold in 2006 for 5.6 mil-
lion dollars!
Those Who
Made a
Difference
Frida Kahlo
9

11. with Hamlet the Hamster
To know or not to know,
that is the question!
Well, wouldn’t you prefer to know?
fun facts
Complete
the Story...
Hariet the possum had one real pleasure in
life - eating delicious food. She knew one
such cottage out by the edge of the
woods, which always had a delicious
snack or two to be found in the garbage.
This time around, Hariet bumped into
an unwanted guest while rumaging - a
very angry looking farmer!
Facts about Possums
Possums have great memories when it comes to food.They recall where to find good food
and return to look for more.
They can't control when they choose to "play dead". It is a state brought on by stress and
they don't get to decide when it happens or for how long.
Possums are immune to snake venom.
They have "prehensile tails" - which can be used as a fifth appendage, after their arms and
legs.

12. Help The Monkey
Get TO The Bananas
Fun with
Words
Fill in the blanks with the correct words starting with O
1. The is considered to be the monster of the deep sea. = _________
2. The tree is an evergreen, flowering tree. = _________
3. is the world's largest bird. = _________
Answers:1.Octopus,2.Orange,3.Ostrich

13. Jesh Krishna Murthy
Aryaa Naik Dalmiya
Contributing Writers
Lavanya Khare
Assistant and Copy Editor
Layout and Design
Artists
Kaniz Fatima Khan
Deepti Raavi
Raunaq Amarnani
Archana Rajagopal
Priyanka Garegat
Ekta Bhatnagar
Rituparna Chatterjee
Content
Amol Padwal
Shailendra Havane
Sujith VS
Rohini Dusane
Bhavini Damani
Sitanshu Bhartiya
Atul Wankhade
Archana Rajagopal
Bharat Pillai
Tushar Rokade
Walmik Pawar
Kalpana Siromani
Dnyanesh Thombre
Prashant Kini
Shekhar Ramaiah
Digital
Marketing
Distribution
Creator
Editor
The Team

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