Cats and Dogs
It’s
raining, it’s raining,
it’s
raining cats and dogs.
It’s
raining owls and butterflies
and
buffalo and hogs.
It’s
raining moose and antelope
and
guinea pigs and frogs.
It’s
raining, it’s raining,
it's raining cats and dogs!
It’s
raining, it’s raining,
it’s
raining dogs and cats.
it’s
raining mice and water voles
and
billy goats and bats.
It’s
raining crabs and crocodiles
and cheetahs,
ducks and rats.
It’s raining,
it’s raining,
it’s
raining dogs and cats!
It’s
raining, it’s raining,
I
promise you it’s true.
It’s
raining cows and ostriches
and
dragonflies and gnu.
It’s
raining bears and monkeys
and I
even saw a shrew.
I think
there’s been a whopping
great
explosion at the zoo!
'It's raining cats and dogs' is a bizarre English idiom. What other weird and wonderful idioms can you think of? Examples include: 'hot potato', 'at the drop of a hat', 'best thing since sliced bread', 'costs an arm and a leg'. Write a poem imagining they are literally true. This activity can also be extended to pupils who speak other languages. The following poem was written by two Bengali students, for whom 'it's raining elephants' is apparently a common saying:
Raining Elephants by Masuma and Amaani
Thud!
Thud! Thud!
The
heavy lumps come crashing to the ground
Their rope-like
trunks flare upwards
Before a
loud trumpet noise belts out
In the
misty atmosphere.
Thud!
Thud! Thud!
One by
one
Powering
on top of people
Like dominoes
they fall
As they
reach the earth’s ground
They charge
Demolishing
stalls in the overcrowded city.
Thud!
Thud! Thud!
It’s
not a lie, you must believe me
For it’s
raining elephants and…
CRASH!
OH NO!
