And if I don't hurt her she'll do me no harm.
So I'll not pull her tail nor drive her away,
But pussy and I very gently will play.
[Illustration: Decoration]
[_Imitated from a pigeon._]
CURR dhoo, curr dhoo,
Love me, and I'll love you!
[Illustration: Lady bird, lady bird, fly away home]
LADY bird, lady bird, fly away home;
Thy house is on fire, thy children all gone--
All but one, and her name is Ann,
And she crept under the pudding-pan.
[Illustration: Decoration]
PUSSY sits behind the fire--
How can she be fair?
In comes the little dog:
"Pussy, are you there?
"So, so, Mistress Pussy,
Pray how do you do?"
"Thank you, thank you, little dog,
I'm very well just now."
[Illustration: Decoration]
LITTLE Robin-Redbreast sat upon a tree;
Up went Pussy cat, and down went he;
Down came Pussy cat, and away Robin ran:
Says little Robin-Redbreast, "Catch me if you can."
Little Robin-Redbreast jump'd upon a wall;
Pussy cat jump'd after him, and almost got a fall;
Little Robin chirp'd and sang, and what did Pussy say?
Pussy cat said "Mew," and Robin jump'd away.
[Illustration: Decoration]
MARY had a pretty bird
With feathers bright and yellow--
Slender legs--upon my word--
He was a pretty fellow.
[Illustration: I had a little hen, the prettiest ever seen]
I HAD a little hen, the prettiest ever seen;
She washed me the dishes, and kept the house clean;
She went to the mill to fetch me some flour;
She brought it home in less than an hour;
She baked me my bread, she brew'd me my ale;
She sat by the fire, and told many a fine tale.
[Illustration: Higgley Piggley]
HIGGLEY PIGGLEY,
My black hen,
She lays eggs
For gentlemen;
Sometimes nine,
And sometimes ten.
Higgley Piggley,
My black hen!
[Illustration: Decoration]
COME, take up your hats, and away let us haste
To the Butterfly's ball, and the Grasshopper's feast;
The trumpeter, Gad-fly, has summoned the crew,
And the revels are now only waiting for you.
On the smooth-shaven grass, by the side of a wood,
Beneath a broad oak which for ages had stood,
See the children of earth, and the tenants of air,
To an evening's amusement together repair.
And there came the Beetle, so blind and so black,
Who carried the Emmet, his friend, on his back;
And there came the Gnat and the Dragon-fly too,
With all their relations, green, orange, and blue.
And there came the Moth, with her plumage of down,
And the Hornet with jacket of yellow and brown;
And with him the Wasp, his companion, did bring;
But they promised that evening to lay by their sting.
Then the sly little Dormouse peeped out of his hole,
And led to the feast his blind cousin the Mole;
And the Snail, with her horns peeping out of her shell,
Came, fatigued with the distance, the length of an ell.
A mushroom the table, and on it was spread
A water-dock leaf, which their table-cloth made.
The viands were various, to each of their taste,
And the Bee brought the honey to sweeten the feast.
With steps most majestic the Snail did advance,
And he promised the gazers a minuet to dance;
But they all laughed so loud that he drew in his head,
And went in his own little chamber to bed.
Then, as evening gave way to the shadows of night,
Their watchman, the Glow-worm, come out with his light.
So home let us hasten, while yet we can see,
For no watchman is waiting for you or for me.
[Illustration: Decoration]
BAH, bah, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
"Yes, marry, have I,
Three bags full:
One for my master,
And one for my dame,
But none for the little boy
Who cries in the lane."
[Illustration: Little boy blue, come, blow up your horn]
Little boy blue, come, blow up your horn;
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
"Where's the little boy that looks after the sheep?"
"He's under the hay-cock fast asleep."
"Will you wake him?" "No, not I;
For if I do, he'll be sure to cry."
[Illustration: Decoration]
GOD bless the master of this house,
The mistress bless also,
And all the little children
That round the table go;
And all your kin and kinsmen,
That dwell both far and near;
I wish you a merry Christmas,
And a happy New Year.
[Illustration: Decoration]
LITTLE girl, little girl, where have you been?
"Gathering roses to give to the queen."
"Little girl, little girl, what gave she you?"
"She gave me a diamond as big as my shoe."
[Illustration: Goosey, goosey, gander]
GOOSEY, goosey, gander,
Where shall I wander?
Upstairs, downstairs,
And in my lady's chamber.
There I meet an old man
That would not say his prayers;
I took him by the left leg,
And threw him downstairs.
[Illustration: Decoration]
JENNY WREN fell sick,
Upon a merry time;
In came Robin-Redbreast
And brought her sops and wine.
"Eat well of the sops, Jenny,
Drink well of the wine."
"Thank you, Robin, kindly,
You shall be mine."
Jenny she got well,
And stood upon her feet,
And told Robin plainly
She loved him not a bit.
Robin, being angry,
Hopped upon a twig,
Saying, "Out upon you. Fie upon you.
Bold-faced jig."
[Illustration: Decoration]
THE hart he loves the high wood,
The hare she loves the hill,
The knight he loves his bright sword,
The lady--loves her will.
[Illustration: I had a little pony]
I HAD a little pony,
His name was Dapple-grey
I lent him to a lady,
To ride a mile away.
She whipped him, she slashed him,
She rode him through the mire;
I would not lend my pony now
For all the lady's hire.
[Illustration: Decoration]
A FARMER went trotting
Upon his grey mare;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!
With his daughter behind him,
So rosy and fair;
Lumpety, lumpety, lump!
A raven cried "Croak;"
And they all tumbled down;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!
The mare broke her knees,
And the farmer his crown;
Lumpety, lumpety, lump.
The mischievous raven
Flew laughing away;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!
And vowed he would serve them
The same the next day;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!
[Illustration: ACCUMULATIVE STORIES]
[Illustration: THIS is the house that Jack built]
THIS is the house that Jack built.
2. This is the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
3. This is the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
4. This is the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
5. This is the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
6. This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
That toss'd the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
7. This is the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
8. This is the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
9. This is the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kiss'd the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
10. This is the cock that crow'd in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kiss'd the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
11. This is the farmer sowing his corn,
That kept the cock that crow'd in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
[Illustration: Decoration]
AN old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a little crooked
sixpence. "What," said she, "shall I do with this little sixpence? I
will go to market, and buy a little pig."
As she was coming home, she came to a stile; but the pig would not go
over the stile.
She went a little farther, and she met a dog. So she said to the dog--
"Dog, dog, bite pig!
Pig won't get over the stile;
And I shan't get home to-night."
But the dog would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a stick. So she said--
"Stick, stick, beat dog!
Dog won't bite pig?
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
But the stick would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a fire. So she said--
"Fire, fire, burn stick!
Stick won't beat dog;
Dog won't bite pig;
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
But the fire would not.
She went a little farther, and she met some water. So she said--
"Water, water, quench fire!
Fire won't burn stick;
Stick won't beat dog;
Dog won't bite pig;
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
But the water would not.
She went a little farther, and she met an ox. So she said--
"Ox, ox, drink water!
Water won't quench fire;
Fire won't burn stick;
Stick won't beat dog;
Dog won't bite pig;
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
[Illustration: THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG]
But the ox would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a butcher. So she said--
"Butcher, butcher, kill ox!
Ox won't drink water;
Water won't quench fire;
Fire won't burn stick;
Stick won't beat dog;
Dog won't bite pig;
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
But the butcher would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a rope. So she said--
"Rope, rope, hang butcher!
Butcher won't kill ox;
Ox won't drink water;
Water won't quench fire;
Fire won't burn stick;
Stick won't beat dog;
Dog won't bite pig;
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
But the rope would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a rat. So she said--
"Rat, rat, gnaw rope!
Rope won't hang butcher;
Butcher won't kill ox;
Ox won't drink water;
Water won't quench fire;
Fire won't burn stick;
Stick won't beat dog;
Dog won't bite pig;
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
But the rat would not.
She went a little farther, and she met a cat. So she said--
"Cat, cat, kill rat;
Rat won't gnaw rope;
Rope won't hang butcher;
Butcher won't kill ox;
Ox won't drink water;
Water won't quench fire;
Fire won't burn stick;
Stick won't beat dog;
Dog won't bite pig;
Pig won't get over the stile,
And I shan't get home to-night."
The cat said, "If you will give me a saucer of milk, I will kill the
rat."
So the old woman gave the cat the milk, and when she had lapped up the
milk--
The cat began to kill the rat;
The rat began to gnaw the rope;
The rope began to hang the butcher;
The butcher began to kill the ox;
The ox began to drink the water;
The water began to quench the fire;
The fire began to burn the stick;
The stick began to beat the dog;
The dog began to bite the pig;
The pig jumped over the stile,
And so the old woman got home that night.
[Illustration: Decoration]
THIS is the key of the kingdom.
In that kingdom there is a city.
In that city there is a town.
In that town there is a street.
In that street there is a lane.
In that lane there is a yard.
In that yard there is a house.
In that house there is a room.
In that room there is a bed.
On that bed there is a basket.
In that basket there are some flowers.
Flowers in the basket, basket in the bed,
bed in the room, &c. &c.
[Illustration: RELICS]
[Illustration: Willy boy, Willy boy, where are you going?]
WILLY boy, Willy boy, where are you going?
I'll go with you, if I may.
"I'm going to the meadow to see them a mowing;
I'm going to help them, make hay."
[Illustration: Decoration]
THE girl in the lane, that couldn't speak plain,
Cried, "Gobble, gobble, gobble."
The man on the hill, that couldn't stand still,
Went hobble, hobble, hobble.
[Illustration: Decoration]
HINK, minx! the old witch winks,
The fat begins to fry:
There's nobody at home but little jumping Joan,
Father, mother, and I.
[Illustration: Decoration]
HANNAH BANTRY in the pantry,
Eating a mutton bone;
How she gnawed it, how she clawed it,
When she found she was alone!
[Illustration: Decoration]
LITTLE Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating of curds and whey;
There came a spider,
And sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
[Illustration: "What are Little Boys made of?"]
WHAT are little boys made of, made of;
What are little boys made of?
"Snaps and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails;
And that's what little boys are made of, made of."
What are little girls made of, made of, made of;
What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice, and all that's nice;
And that's what little girls are made of, made of."
[Illustration: Decoration]
WHAT'S the news of the day,
Good neighbour, I pray?
"They say the balloon
Is gone up to the moon."
[Illustration: Decoration]
KING'S SUTTON is a pretty town,
And lies all in a valley;
There is a pretty ring of bells,
Besides a bowling-alley:
Wine and liquor in good store,
Pretty maidens plenty;
Can a man desire more?
There ain't such a town in twenty.
[Illustration: Decoration]
COME, let's to bed,
Says Sleepy-head;
"Tarry a while," says Slow;
"Put on the pot,"
Says Greedy-gut,
"Let's sup before we go."
[Illustration: Girls and boys, come out to play]
Girls and boys, come out to play;
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street.
Come with a whoop, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A halfpenny roll will serve us all.
You find milk, and I'll find flour,
And we'll have a pudding in half-an-hour.
[Illustration: Decoration]
HOW many days has my baby to play?
Saturday, Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
[Illustration: Decoration]
AROUND the green gravel the grass grows green,
And all the pretty maids are plain to be seen;
Wash them with milk, and clothe them with silk,
And write their names with a pen and ink.
[Illustration: Decoration]
AS I was going to sell my eggs,
I met a man with bandy legs,
Bandy legs and crooked toes;
I tripped up his heels, and he fell on his nose.
[Illustration: Decoration]
MY little old man and I fell out;
I'll tell you what 'twas all about:
I had money, and he had none,
And that's the way the row begun.
[Illustration: Daffy-Down-Dilly has come up to town]
DAFFY-DOWN-DILLY has come up to town
In a yellow petticoat and a green gown.
[Illustration: Decoration]
DARBY and Joan were dress'd in black,
Sword and buckle behind their back;
Foot for foot, and knee for knee,
Turn about Darby's company.
[Illustration: Decoration]
IF all the seas were one sea,
What a _great_ sea that would be!
And if all the trees were one tree,
What a _great_ tree that would be!
And if all the axes were one axe,
What a _great_ axe that would be!
And if all the men were one man,
What a _great_ man he would be!
And if the _great_ man took the _great_ axe,
And cut down _the great_ tree,
And let it fall into _the great_ sea,
What a splish splash _that_ would be!
[Illustration: Decoration]
RAIN, rain, go away;
Come again another day;
Little Arthur wants to play.
[Illustration: Barber, barber, shave a pig]
BARBER, barber, shave a pig;
How many hairs will make a wig?
"Four-and-twenty, that's enough:"
Give the barber a pinch of snuff.
[Illustration: Decoration]
LITTLE Tom Tucker
Sings for his supper;
What shall he eat?
White bread and butter.
How shall he cut it,
Without e'er a knife?
How will he be married
Without e'er a wife?
[Illustration: Decoration]
WHO comes here?
"A grenadier."
"What do you want?"
"A pot of beer."
"Where is your money?"
"I've forgot."
"Get you gone,
You drunken sot!"
[Illustration: Decoration]
TO market, to market, to buy a plum-cake;
Back again, back again, baby is late;
To market, to market, to buy a plum-bun,
Back again, back again, market is done.
[Illustration: Decoration]
BLOW, wind, blow! and go, mill, go!
That the miller may grind his corn;
That the baker may take it,
And into rolls make it,
And send us some hot in the morn.
[Illustration: A Man went a hunting at Reigate]
A MAN went a hunting at Reigate,
And wished to leap over a high gate;
Says the owner, "Go round,
With your gun and your hound,
For you never shall leap over my gate."
[Illustration: Decoration]
THERE was a little nobby colt,
His name was Nobby Gray;
His head was made of pouce straw,
His tail was made of hay.
He could ramble, he could trot,
He could carry a mustard-pot,
Round the town of Woodstock,
Hey, Jenny, hey!
[Illustration: Decoration]
WE'RE all in the dumps,
For diamonds are trumps;
The kittens are gone to St. Paul's!
The babies are bit,
The moon's in a fit,
And the houses are built without walls.
[Illustration: Notes.]
THE origin of the right nursery rhymes is, of course, popular, like the
origin of ballads, tales (_Maerchen_), riddles, proverbs, and, indeed, of
literature in general. They are probably, in England, of no great
antiquity, except in certain cases, where they supply the words to some
child's _ballet_, some dance game. A game may be of prehistoric
antiquity, as appears in the rudimentary forms of backgammon, _Pachin_
and _Patullo_, common to Asia, and to the Aztecs, as Dr. Tylor has
demonstrated. The child's game--
"Buck, buck,
How many fingers do I hold up?"
was known in ancient Rome as _bucca_, though it would be audacious to
infer that it arrived in Britain since the Norman Conquest. Hop-scotch
is also exceedingly ancient, and the curious will find the theories of
its origin in Mr. Gomme's learned work on Children's Dances and Songs,
published by the Folk-Lore Society. Dr. Nicholson's book on the
Folk-Lore of Children in Sutherland, still unpublished when I write, may
also be consulted. One of the songs collected by Dr. Nicholson was
copied down by a Danish traveller in London during the reign of Charles
II. Robert Chambers's "Popular Rhymes of Scotland" is also a treasure of
this kind of antiquities. It is probable that the Lowland rhymes have
occasionally Gaelic counterparts, as the nursery tales certainly have,
but I am unacquainted with any researches on this topic by Celtic
scholars.
In Mr. Halliwell's Collection, from which this volume is abridged, no
manuscript authority goes further back than the reign of Henry VIII.,
though King Arthur and Robin Hood are mentioned. The obscure Scottish
taunt, levelled at Edward I. when besieging Berwick, is much in the
manner of a nursery rhyme:--
"Kyng Edward,
When thu havest Berwic,
Pike thee!
When thu havest geton,
Dike thee!"
This, as Sir Herbert Maxwell says, "seems deficient in salt," but was
felt to be irritating by the greatest of the Plantagenets. The jingles
on the King of France, against the Scots in the time of James I.,
against the Tory, or Irish rapparee, and about the Gunpowder Plot, are
of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The Great
Rebellion supplies "Hector Protector" and "The Parliament soldiers are
gone to the king;" "Over the water and over the sea" (or lee) is a
parody of a Jacobite ditty of 1748, and refers genially to that love of
ale and wine which Prince Charles displayed as early as he showed
military courage, at the age of fourteen, when he distinguished himself
at the siege of Gaeta. His grandfather, James II., lives in "The rhyme
for _porringer_;" his father in "Jim and George were two great lords."
_Tout finit par des chansons._
Of non-historical jingles, Mr. Halliwell found traces in MSS. as old as
the fifteenth century. But it would be a very rare accident that led to
their being written down when nobody dreamed of studying Folk-Lore with
solemnity. "Thirty days hath September" occurs in the "Return from
Parnassus," of Shakspeare's date, and a few snatches, like "When I was a
little boy," occur in Shakspeare himself, just as a German version of
"My Minnie me slew" comes in Goethe's _Faust_. Indeed, the scraps of
magical versified spells in _Maerchen_ are entirely of the character of
nursery rhymes, and are of dateless antiquity. The rhyme of "Dr.
Faustus" may be nearly as old as the mediaeval legend dramatised by
Marlowe. The Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists put nursery rhymes in
the mouths of characters; a few jingles creep into the Miscellanies,
such as "The Pills to purge Melancholy." Among these (1719) is "Tom the
piper's son," who played "Over the hills and far away," a song often
adapted to Jacobite uses. In 1719, when the Spanish plan of aid to James
III. collapsed, pipers must have been melancholy enough.
_Melismata_ (1611) already knows the "Frog who lived in a well," and in
_Deuteromelia_ (1609) occurs the "Three blind mice." On the Riddles, or
_Devinettes_, chapters might be, and have been written. They go back to
Samson's time, at least, and are as widely distributed as proverbs, even
among Wolufs and Fijians. The most recent discussion is in Mr. Max
Mueller's "Contributions to the Science of Mythology" (1897). For using
"charms," like "Come, butter, come," many an old woman was burned by
the wisdom of our ancestors. Such versified charms, _deducunt carmima
lunam_, are the _karakias_ of the Maoris, and the _mantras_ of Indian
superstition. The magical papyri of ancient Egypt are full of them. In
our own rhyme, "Hiccup," regarded as a personal kind of fiend
("Animism"), is charmed away by a promise of a butter-cake. There is a
collection of such things in Reginald Scot's "Discovery of Witchcraft."
Thus our old nursery rhymes are smooth stones from the brook of time,
worn round by constant friction of tongues long silent. We cannot hope
to make new nursery rhymes, any more than we can write new fairy tales.
[Illustration: Index of First Lines]
Page
A CARRION crow sat on an oak 103
A diller, a dollar 49
A farmer went trotting 246
A little cock-sparrow sat on a green tree 230
A little old man and I fell out 157
A long-tail'd pig, or a short-tail'd pig 229
A man of words and not of deeds 79
A man went a hunting at Reigate 273
A pie sat on a pear-tree 227
A sunshiny shower 82
A swarm of bees in May 82
A was an apple-pie 46
A was an Archer, and shot at a frog 45
All of a row 220
Around the green gravel the grass grows green 268
Arthur O'Bower has broken his band 124
As I walked by myself 38
As I was going by Charing Cross 37
As I was going o'er Westminster Bridge 132
As I was going to sell my eggs 268
As I was going to St. Ives 131
As I was going up Pippen-hill 209
As I went through the garden gap 132
As soft as silk, as white as milk 124
As the days lengthen 83
As Tommy Snooks and Bessy Brooks 203
BAH, bah, black sheep 240
Barber, barber, shave a pig 271
Bat, bat 172
Bessy Bell and Mary Gray 207
Betty Pringle had a little pig 229
Birch and green holly, boys 44
Black we are but much admired 130
Blow, wind, blow! and go, mill, go! 273
Blue eye beauty 202
Bounce Buckram, velvet's dear 79
Bow, wow, wow 233
Brave news is come to town 200
Bryan O'Lin, and his wife, and wife's mother 63
Burnie bee, burnie bee 220
Bye, baby bunting 148
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! 192
Cock Robin got up early 228
Cold and raw the north wind doth blow 117
Come, butter, come 147
Come, let's to bed 266
Come, take up your hats, and away let us haste 239
Come when you're called 44
"Croak!" said the Toad, "I'm hungry, I think" 225
Cross patch 51
Cuckoo, cherry-tree 176
Cuckoo, Cuckoo 222
Curly locks! curly locks! wilt thou be mine? 214
Curr dhoo, curr dhoo 235
Cushy cow bonny, let down thy milk 145
DAFFY-DOWN-DILLY has come up to town 269
Dame, get up and bake your pies 117
Dame, what makes your ducks to die? 231
Dance, Thumbkin, dance 175
Dance to your daddy 148
Darby and Joan were dress'd in black 270
Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John 191
Did you see my wife, did you see, did you see? 214
Diddledy, diddledy, dumpty 194
Ding, dong, bell 194
Doctor Faustus was a good man 48
Doctor Foster went to Glo'ster 65
Draw a pail of water 184
EARLY to bed, and early to rise 83
Eat, birds, eat, and make no waste 223
Eggs butter, bread 186
Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess 133
Elsie Marley is grown so fine 94
FIDDLE-DE-DEE, fiddle-de-dee 195
Flour of England, fruit of Spain 128
For every evil under the sun 82
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost 84
Formed long ago, yet made to-day 131
Four and twenty tailors went to kill a snail 224
Friday night's dream 83
GAY go up and gay go down 172
Georgey Porgey, pudding and pie 215
Girls and boys, come out to play 267