There was an old man who lived in a wood,
As you may plainly see,
He said he could do as much work in a day
As his wife could do in three.
"With all my heart," the old woman said,
"If that you will allow;
To-morrow you'll stay at home in my stead,
And I'll go drive the plough.
"But you must milk the Tidy cow,
For fear she may go dry.
And you must feed the little pigs
That are within the sty;
"And you must mind the speckled hen,
For fear she lay away;
And you must reel the spool of yarn
That I spun yesterday."
The old woman took a whip in her hand,
And went to drive the plough;
The old man took a pail in his hand,
And went to milk the cow.
But Tidy hinched and Tidy flinched,
And Tidy broke his nose,
And Tidy gave him such a blow
That the blood ran down to his toes.
"Hi! Tidy! Ho! Tidy! Hi!
Tidy! do stand still!
If ever I milk you, Tidy, again,
'Twill be sore against my will."
He went to feed the little pigs,
That were within the sty;
He hit his head against the beam
And he made the blood to fly.
He went to mind the speckled hen,
For fear she'd lay away;
And he forgot the spool of yarn
His wife spun yesterday.
So he swore by the sun, the moon, the stars,
And the green leaves on the tree,
If his wife didn't do a day's work in her life,
She should never be ruled by he.