贪
=
今
+
贝
:
The crab (贝) is so greedy (贪) that it rented out its shell to Tecumseh (t) to live in in front of the anthill (an1). It can't wait for the first day of the month to appear on its rip-off calendar (今) so that it can go to collect the rent.
天
=
一
+
大
:
Mnemonic symbol: an angel from heaven. Mother Teresa (ti) programmed a robot (大) to play a flute duet together with her in front of the anthill (an1). As they play their flutes (一) an angel (mnemonic symbol for 天) hears their heavenly tune and descends from heaven (天) to listen to them.
之
=
丶
+
Z
:
Mnemonic symbol: Sooo sleepy... "zZz" (the character looks like a "Z"). James II of England (zh) fell asleep in front of the space station (Ø1). He sleeps on a big petal leaf (丶), making loud "zZz" (之) sounds.
功
=
力
+
工
:
Gitta Giraffe (gu) practices her Kung Fu skills (功) in front of the engine ((e)ng1) with a sparring robot made out of steel beams (工). The robot is programmed to fight Kung Fu (功), but Gitta Giraffe's Kung Fu is better: she hits the robots power button (力) and turns it off.