Explore "A Child's Primer of Natural History" by Oliver Herford on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
"OH, say, what is this fearful, wild / In-cor-ri-gible cuss?" / "This "crea-ture" (don't say 'cuss,' my child; / 'T is slang) -- this crea-ture fierce is styled The Hip-po-pot-am-us.
His curious name de-rives its source / From two Greek words: "hippos" -- a horse, / "Potamos" -- river. See? / The river's plain e-nough, of course; / But why they called that thing a horse, / That's what is Greek to me."