[Illustration]
A cat came fiddling out of a barn,
With a pair of bag-pipes under her arm;
She could sing nothing but fiddle cum fee,
The mouse has married the humble-bee;
Pipe, cat,—dance, mouse,
We’ll have a wedding at our good house.
[Illustration]
As I went through the garden gap,
Who should I meet but Dick Red-cap!
A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat,
If you’ll tell me this riddle, I’ll give you a groat.
[_A cherry._]
[Illustration]
As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives;
Every wife had seven sacks,
Every sack had seven cats,
Every cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were there going to St. Ives?
As round as an apple, as deep as a cup,
And all the king’s horses can’t pull it up.
[_A well._]
A diller, a dollar,
A ten o’clock scholar,
What makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten o’clock,
But now you come at noon.
A, B, C, tumble down D,
The cat’s in the cupboard and can’t see me.
[Illustration]
A farmer came 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 him the same next day,
Lumpety, lumpety, lump.
[Illustration]
A long-tailed pig, or a short-tailed pig,
Or a pig without a tail;
A sow pig, or a boar pig,
Or a pig with a curly tail.
Abbace,
Daffagee,
Kellamenoppekew,
Rustyvee,
Doubleyou,
X, Y, Z.
All of a row,
Bend the bow,
Shot at a pigeon,
And killed a crow.
A, B, C, and D, pray, playmates agree,
E, F, and G, well so it shall be.
J, K, and L, in peace we will dwell.
M, N, and O, to play let us go.
P, Q, R, and S, love may we possess.
W, X, and Y, will not quarrel or die.
Z, and ampherse-and, go to school at command.
Bell horses, bell horses, what time of day?
One o’clock, two o’clock, off and away.
Barber, barber, shave a pig;
How many hairs will make a wig?
“Four and twenty, that’s enough.”
Give the poor barber a pinch of snuff.
[Illustration]
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]
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.
Brow, brow, brinkie;
Eye, eye, winkie;
Nose, nose, nopper;
Mouth, mouth, merry;
Cheek, cheek, cherry;
Chin, chin, chopper.
Bye, baby, bunting,
Daddy’s gone a hunting,
To get a little rabbit skin
To wrap his baby bunting in.
Cross patch, draw the latch,
Sit by the fire and spin;
Take a cup, and drink it up,
Then call your neighbours in.
Cry, baby, cry,
Put your finger in your eye,
And tell your mother it wasn’t I.
[Illustration]
Cock a doodle doo!
My dame has lost her shoe;
My master’s lost his fiddle stick,
And don’t know what to do.
“Come, let’s to bed,” says Sleepy-head;
“Tarry a while,” says slow:
“Put on the pot,” says Greedy-gut,
“We’ll sup before we go.”
[Illustration]
Cuckoo, cherry tree,
Catch a bird and give it to me;
Catch another
And give it to brother.
Cock Robin got up early,
At the break of day,
And went to Jenny’s window,
To sing a roundelay.
He sang Cock Robin’s love
To the pretty Jenny Wren,
And when he got unto the end,
Then he began again.
Ding, dong, bell,
Pussy’s in the well!
Who put her in?
Little Tommy Green;
Who pull’d her out?
Little Johnny Stout;
What a naughty boy was that
To try and drown poor pussy cat,
Who never did him any harm,
But kill’d the mice in his father’s barn.
[Illustration]
Dickery, dickery, dare,
The pig flew up in the air;
The man in brown
Soon brought him down,
Dickery, dickery, dare.
Danty, baby, diddy,
What can mammy do wid’e?
Sit in a lap,
And give it some pap,
Danty, baby, diddy.
Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John
Went to bed with his stockings on;
One shoe off, the other shoe on,
Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John.
Daffy-down-dilly has come up to town,
In a fine petticoat and a green gown.
[Illustration]
Diddlety, diddlety, dumpty,
The cat ran up the plum tree;
Half-a-crown, to fetch her down,
Diddlety, diddlety, dumpty.
Ding, dong, darrow,
The cat and the sparrow;
The little dog has burnt his tail,
And he shall be hang’d to-morrow.
Eggs, butter, cheese, bread,
Stick, stock, stone, dead,
Stick him up, stick him down,
Stick him in the old man’s crown.
Elizabeth, Lizzy, and Betsy and Bess,
They all went together to seek a bird’s nest.
They found a bird’s nest with five eggs in,
They all took one and left four in.
Een-a, deen-a,
Dine-a, dust,
Catt’ll-a, ween-a,
Wine-a, wust,
Spit, spot, must be done,
Twiddlum, twaddlum, twenty-one.
O-U-T, spells out,
A nasty dirty dish-clout.
[Illustration]
F for fig, J for jig,
And N for knuckle bones,
I for John the waterman,
And S for sack of stones.
Flour of England, fruit of Spain,
Met together in a shower of rain;
Put in a bag tied round with a string,
If you’ll tell me this riddle, I’ll give you a ring.
[_A plum pudding._]
[Illustration]
Four and twenty tailors, went to kill a snail,
The best man among them durst not touch her tail.
She put out her horns, like a little Kyloe cow;
Run, tailors, run, or she’ll kill you all just now.
Girls and boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
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]
Great A, little a,
Bouncing B!
The cat’s in the cupboard,
And can’t see me.
Hickety, pickety, my black hen,
She lays eggs for gentlemen;
Sometimes nine,
Sometimes ten.
Gentlemen come every day,
To see what my black hen doth lay.
Here we are on Tom Tiddler’s ground,
Picking up gold and silver.
Here comes a poor woman from baby-land,
With three small children in her hand:
One can brew, the other can bake,
The other can make a lily-white cake.
One can sit in the garden and spin,
Another can make a fine bed for the king;
Pray ma’am will you take one in?
[Illustration]
Hey! diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jump’d over the moon;
The little dog laugh’d
To see such sport,
While the dish ran after the spoon.
Hicky more, hacky more,
Hung at the kitchen door,
All day long,
Nothing so long,
Nothing so strong,
As hickeymore, hackymore,
Hung at the kitchen door
All day long.
[_Sunshine._]
Hickory, diccory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck one,
And down the mouse run,
Hiccory, diccory, dock.
[Illustration]
Hark, hark,
The dogs do bark,
The beggars are coming to town;
Some in rags, and some in jags,
And some in velvet gowns.
[Illustration]
Humpty Dumpty, sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
Not all the king’s horses, nor all the king’s men
Could set Humpty Dumpty up again.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
Mulberry bush,
Mulberry bush,
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
On a cold frosty morning.
This is the way we brush our hair,
Brush our hair,
Brush our hair,
This is the way we brush our hair,
On a cold frosty morning.
[_Followed by_ “This is the way we clean our boots,” _etc._]
Hey ding a ding, what shall I sing?
How many holes in a skimmer?
Four and twenty—my stomach’s empty;
Pray, Mamma, give me some dinner.
Here we go up, up, up,
And here we go down, down, downy;
Here we go backwards and forwards,
And here we go round, round, roundy.
[Illustration]
Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
Down comes hush-a-bye, baby, and all.
I had a little pony,
His name was Dapple-gray,
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.
I lost my little mare in Lincoln-lane,
And could’nt tell where to find her,
Till she came home both lame and blind,
With never a tail behind her.
[Illustration]
I had a little doll, the prettiest ever seen,
She washed up the dishes, and kept the house clean.
She went to the mill, to fetch me some flour,
And always got it home, in less than an hour.
She baked me my bread, she brewed me my ale,
She sat by the fire, and told me a tale.
If all the world were apple pie,
And all the sea was ink,
And all the trees were bread and cheese,
What should we have for drink?
I’ll tell you a story,
About Jack a Nory,
And now my story’s begun:
I’ll tell you another,
About Jack and his brother,
And now my story’s done.
I had a little husband,
No bigger than my thumb,
I put him in a pint pot,
And there I bid him drum.
I bought a little horse,
That gallop’d up and down;
I bridled him and saddled him,
And sent him out of town.
I gave him some garters,
To garter up his hose,
And a little pocket-handkerchief,
To wipe his pretty nose.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Jack and Jill went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down, and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean;
And so betwixt them both,
They lick’d the platter clean.
[Illustration]
Kiss me asleep, and kiss me awake,
Kiss me for Dear Willie’s sake.
Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep,
And can’t tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
Dragging their tails behind them.
Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating;
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were still fleeting.
Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them;
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they’d left all their tails behind ’em.
[Illustration]
Little boy blue, come blow up your horn,
The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.
Where is the little boy, minding the sheep?
Under the haycock fast asleep!
[Illustration]
Little Robin Red-breast sat upon a tree,
Up went Pussy-cat, and down went he;
Down came Pussy-cat, and away Robin ran;
Says little Robin Red-breast, “Catch me if you can.”
Little Robin Red-breast jumped upon a spade,
Pussy-cat jumped after him, and made him afraid;
Little Robin chirp’d and sung, and what did Pussy say?
Pussy-cat said “Mew, mew, mew,” and Robin flew away.
Little Anne Etticoat,
In a white petticoat,
And a red nose;
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.
[_A Candle._]
[Illustration]
Little Tee Wee,
He went to sea,
In an open boat;
And while afloat
The little boat bended,
And my story’s ended.
Little Mary Ester,
Sat upon a tester,
Eating of curds and whey;
There came a large spider,
And sat down beside her,
And frighten’d poor Mary away.
Little Jack Horner sat in the corner,
Eating a Christmas pie:
He put in his thumb, and pull’d out a plum,
And said “What a good boy am I!”
[Illustration]
Lady-Bird, Lady-Bird
Fly away home,
Your house is on fire,
Your children at home.
Little Robin Red-breast
Sat upon a rail:
Niddle noddle went his head,
And waggle went his tail.
[Illustration]
Little Tommy Tucker,
Sang for his supper;
What shall he eat?
White bread and butter.
How shall he cut it
Without e’er a knife?
How will he marry
Without e’er a wife?
Master I have, and I am his man,
Gallop a dreary dun;
Master I have, and I am his man,
And I’ll get a wife as fast as I can;
With a heighly gaily gamberally,
Higgledy piggledy, niggledy, niggledy,
Gallop a dreary dun.
My story’s ended,
My spoon’s bended;
If you don’t like it,
Go to the next door,
And get it mended.
[Illustration]
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle-shells,
And pretty maids all of a row.
Margery Mutton-pie and Johnny Bo-peep,
They met together in Gracechurch Street,
In and out, in and out, over the way,
Oh! says Johnny, ’tis chop-nose day.
Multiplication is vexation,
Division is as bad;
The Rule of Three it puzzles me,
And Practice drives me mad.
My mother and your mother
Went over the way;
Said my mother to your mother,
It’s chop-a-nose day.
[_The above lines are repeated by the nurse when sliding her hand down
the child’s face._]
[Illustration]
Needles and pins, needles and pins,
When a man marries his trouble begins.
O the little rusty, dusty, rusty miller!
I’ll not change my wife for either gold or siller.
[Illustration]
Oranges and lemons,
Said the Bells of St. Clement’s.
You owe me five farthings,
Said the Bells of St. Martin’s.
When will you pay me?
Said the Bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich,
Said the Bells of Shoreditch.
When will that be?
Said the Bells of Stepney.
I do not know,
Said the great Bell of Bow.
Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
And here comes a chopper to chop—off—the—last—man’s—head.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
I caught a hare alive;
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
I let her go again.
One-ery, two-ery, ziccary zan;
Hollow bone, crack a bone, ninery ten;
Spillery spot, it must be done;
Twiddledum, twaddledum, twenty-one.
O, U, T, spells out.
[_Used by Children to decide who is to begin a game._]
[Illustration]
One misty, moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man clothed all in leather,
He began to compliment, and I began to grin,
How do you do? and how do you do?
And how do you do again?
Old Mother Goose, when
She wanted to wander,
Would ride through the air
On a very fine gander.
[Illustration]
Mother Goose had a house,
’Twas built in a wood,
Where an owl at the door
For sentinel stood.
[Illustration]
This is her son Jack,
A plain-looking lad,
He is not very good,
Nor yet very bad.
She sent him to market,
A live goose he bought,
Here, mother, says he,
It will not go for nought.
[Illustration]
Jack’s goose and her gander
Grew very fond;
They’d both eat together,
Or swim in one pond.
[Illustration]
Jack found one morning,
As I have been told,
His goose had laid him
An egg of pure gold.
[Illustration]
Jack rode to his mother,
The news for to tell,
She call’d him a good boy,
And said it was well.
Jack sold his gold egg
To a rogue of a Jew,
Who cheated him out of
The half of his due.
[Illustration]
Then Jack went a courting
A lady so gay,
As fair as the lily,
And sweet as the May.
[Illustration]
The old Mother Goose
That instant came in,
And turned her son Jack
Into famed Harlequin.
[Illustration]
She then touched her wand,
Touch’d the lady so fine,
And turn’d her at once
Into sweet Columbine.
[Illustration]
Jack’s mother came in,
And caught the goose soon
And mounting its back
Flew up to the moon.
[Illustration]
One, two, buckle my shoe;
Three, four, shut the door;
Five, six, pick up sticks;
Seven, eight, lay them straight;
Nine, ten, a good fat hen;
Eleven, twelve, who will delve?
Thirteen, fourteen, maids a courting;
Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen;
Seventeen, eighteen, maids a waiting;
Nineteen, twenty, my stomach’s empty,
Please, mamma, give me some dinner.
Old mother Twitchet had but one eye,
And a long tail which she let fly;
And every time she went over a gap,
She left a bit of her tail in a trap.
[_A needle and thread._]
[Illustration]
Pussy-cat, Pussy-cat, where have you been,
I’ve been to London to look at the Queen?
Pussy-cat, Pussy-cat, what did you there?
I frighten’d a little mouse under the chair.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pepper,
A peck of pepper Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pepper,
Where’s the peck of pepper Peter Piper picked?
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man;
So I will, master, as fast as I can:
Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with B,
Put it in the oven for Baby and me.
[Illustration]
Pitty Patty Polt,
Shoe the wild colt,
Here a nail,
And there a nail,
Pitty Patty Polt.
Pussy cat Mole,
Jumped over a coal,
And in her best petticoat burnt a great hole;
Poor Pussy’s weeping, she’ll have no more milk,
Until her best petticoat’s mended with silk.
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
And let’s drink tea.
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
It will all boil away.
Blow the fire and make the toast,
Put the muffins down to roast,
Blow the fire and make the toast,
We’ll all have tea.
Quixote Quicksight quiz’d a queerish quidbox,
A queerish quidbox Quixote Quicksight quiz’d;
If Quixote Quicksight quiz’d a queerish quidbox,
Where’s the queerish quidbox Quixote Quicksight quiz’d?
[Illustration]
Ride, baby, ride!
Pretty baby shall ride,
And have a little puppy-dog tied to her side,
And a little pussy-cat tied to the other,
And away she shall ride to see her grandmother,
To see her grandmother,
To see her grandmother.
Ring the bell!
[Illustration]
Knock at the door!
[Illustration]
Lift up the latch!
[Illustration]
And walk in!
[Illustration]
Robin and Richard were two pretty men;
They lay in bed till the clock struck ten:
Then up starts Robin and looks at the sky,
O, brother Richard! the sun’s very high.
You go first with bottle and bag,
And I’ll come after on little Jack Nag;
You go first, and open the gate,
And I’ll come after, and break your pate.
Rub a dub dub,
Three men in a tub;
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick-maker;
All jumped out of a rotten potato.
[Illustration]
Rain, rain
Go away,
Come again
Another day;
Little Johnny
Wants to play.
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see an old woman ride on a white horse;
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
She shall have music wherever she goes.
[Illustration]