ter night he entertains a crowd of children gathered round the fire with stories of what might really have happened when the world was young. He shares stories of how boys and girls used to write numbers in long ago times, with Ching writing on palm leaves, Lugal on bricks, and Hippias on parchment. And how through the ages they devised various ways of adding, multiplying, and div-iding. At the close of each evening he leaves the children with questions to ponder or situations to puzzle over. The book concludes with a series of number puzzles and curious problems for further reflection by all ages.