And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

Theodor Seuss Geisel's first children's book, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street", was published under the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story follows a youngster named Marco who, in an elaborate fantasy story he makes up to tell his father at the end of his stroll, depicts a procession of imagined people and cars going along a road called Mulberry Street. When he returns home, though, he informs his father of what he truly saw—a simple horse and wagon.<br>Dr. Seuss came up with the idea of the book while on a ship returning from a European trip with his wife in 1936. The ship's engines attracted him, and he was inspired to write the book's signature.<p> A boy named Marco, who is walking home from school, thinks of his father's advice:<p> Marco, keep your eyelids up<br> And see what you can see.<p> However, the only thing Marco has seen on his walk is a horse pulling a wagon on Mulberry Street. To make his story more interesting to tell his father, Marco imagined an elaborate scene. He imagines the horse is first a zebra, then a reindeer, then an elephant, and finally, an elephant helped by two giraffes. The wagon changed to a chariot, then a sled, and then a cart holding a brass band.<br> However, when his father questioned him about what he saw on his way back to home, he decided to stay with the facts and said, "Nothing ... but a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street."<p> This story guides younger children to stick with the truth and not with the fantasies they may have imagined or inclined to tell.<br>