_The Frog and the Crow of Ennow_.--In answer to M. (Vol. ii., p. 136.),
I send you the edition of "the frog and the crow" which I have been
familiar with since childhood. I can give you no history of it, save
that it is tolerably well known in Lancashire, and that the _point_
consists in giving a scream over the last "oh!" which invariably, if
well done, elicits a start even in those who are familiar with the
rhyme, and know what to expect.
_The Frog and the Crow_.
"There was a jolly fat frog lived in the river Swimmo,
And there was a comely black crow lived on the
river Brimmo;
Come on shore, come on shore, said the crow to the
frog, and then, oh;
No, you'll bite me, no, you'll bite me, said the frog
to the crow again, oh.
"But there is sweet music on yonder green hill, oh,
And you shall be a dancer, a dancer in yellow,
All in yellow, all in yellow, said the crow to the frog,
and then, oh;
Sir, I thank you, Sir, I thank you, said the frog to
the crow again, oh.
"Farewell, ye little fishes, that are in the river Swimmo,
For I am going to be a dancer, a dancer in yellow;
Oh, beware, Oh, beware, said the fish to the frog
again, oh;
All in yellow, all in yellow, said the frog to the fish,
and then, oh.
"The frog he came a-swimming, a-swimming, to
land, oh,
And the crow, he came a-hopping to lend him his
hand, oh;
Sir, I thank you; Sir, I thank you, said the frog to
the crow, and then, oh;
Sir, you're welcome; Sir, you're welcome, said the
crow to the frog again, oh.
"But where is the music on yonder green hill, oh;
And where are the dancers, the dancers in yellow,
All in yellow, all in yellow? said the frog to the
crow, and then, oh;
Sir, they're here; Sir, they're here, said the crow to
the frog, and eat him all up, _Oh_," (screamed.)
The moral is obvious, and the diction too recent for the song to have
any great antiquity. I have never seen it in print.