Reading poetry for children can often help you to learn a foreign language. Why? Because poetry written for children is simple, and uses words and language which are close to the ordinary spoken language. And generally these poems are short, and make you laugh. I have two little poems for you today. The first one is a traditional children's rhyme called Mary had a Little Lamb. It goes like this:-
It followed her to school one day,
It made the children laugh and play
Look at the first line — Mary had a little lamb. In English, we often use the word "have" to mean "eat". For example, Kevin has a chocolate bar with his coffee in the morning. This means that he eats a chocolate bar with his coffee. I have a sandwich and an apple for lunch. That means, I eat a sandwich and an apple. The waiter in a cafe may ask you, "What would you like to have?" and this means "What would you like to eat?" So, "Mary had a little lamb" — that couldn't possibly mean "Mary ate a little lamb", could it? The American children's poet, Bill Dodds, thinks so.