There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

Remember this nursery rhyme? Some believe the poem, first published in the 1840s, was inspired by the once prosperous wool trading village of Lavenham, in Suffolk, England. To understand why, you just have to wander around the streets of this delightful little town, located about 70 miles northeast of London. Just about every other half-timbered, brightly painted houses here are noticeably crooked, leaning on to each other as if for support.