Tikki Tikki Tembo
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Tikki Tikki Tembo is a children's book written by Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent, which purports to be an old Chinese folktale. The story is about a family with two sons, in which the first-born and honoured son gets a long name, and the other son gets a short name (by tradition). The first born son's full name is Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo which means "the most wonderful thing in the whole wide world" but is shortened for the book's title, and the second son's name is Chang which means "little or nothing". The story's plot revolves around Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo falling into a well, and Chang saves him after trying to get help by mentioning his brother's name to many people, and eventually to the hero; an old man with a ladder.
It's a book aimed at school children from Kindergarten to Grade 2
Other versions of the name are: Rikki tikki instead of Tikki tikki (not to be confused with Rikki-Tikki-Tavi) and Nikki Nikki Tembo-No So Rembo-Oo Ma Moochi-Gamma Gamma Goochi.
Although most tellings of the story claim that it is a Chinese folktale, the story actually bears a striking resemblance to the Japanese folktale of Jugemu.
