Wrinkles

"Elephants have wrinkles, wrinkles, wrinkles. Elephants have wrinkles, wrinkles everywhere." My two-year-old came back from her dancing class, uplifted and energetic.

"On their toes. On their toes." I joined in the dance and raised my foot to touch my toes. If I am candid, I do believe that the original exercise should be keeping my knees locked and banding over to touch the toes - of which I no longer believe I, 41, can manage.

Of all the movement songs of children, "Elephants Have Wrinkles" has surely given us the pleasure of dance with words.

"What is meant by wrinkles?" my daughter asked.

Good question - to which I'm afraid not being prepared to be asked. Much to my chagrin, I found it difficult to explain the word to my two-year-old. I wasn't sure what to say. Picture me at home sitting with my daughter, wrinkling my brow in concentration to find a good answer.

Two final words occurred to me. Crow's feet.

How adroitly the words crow's feet sum up the concept. But hey! There are many more in English. Think about goose eggs, hives, bear hug, goose bumps and ponytail.