The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 1 The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes Author: Various Editor: Walter Jerrold Illustrator: Charles Robinson Release Date: January 13, 2012 [EBook #38562] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BIG BOOK OF NURSERY RHYMES *** Produced by David Edwards, Matthew Wheaton and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 2 The big book of NURSERY RHYMES DEDICATION To the =Youngest Baby of All= with the Love of the Compiler and the Artist. Printed in Great Britain by Blackie & Son, Ltd., Glasgow BLACKIE & SON LTD., 50 OLD BAILEY, LONDON, AND 17 STANHOPE STREET, GLASGOW BLACKIE & SON (INDIA) LTD., BOMBAY; BLACKIE & SON (CANADA) LTD., TORONTO CURLY LOCKS Thou shalt sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam. And feed upon strawberries sugar and cream. The big book of Nursery Rhymes Edited by Walter Jerrold Illustrated by Charles Robinson Published by Blackie and Son, Ltd London INTRODUCTION The very title, Nursery Rhymes, which has come to be associated with a great body of familiar verse, is in itself sufficient indication of the manner in which that verse has been passed down from generation to generation. Who composed the little pieces it is, save in a few cases, impossible to say: some are certainly very old and were doubtless repeated thousands of times before their first appearance in print. References to certain favourites may be found in the pages of the dramatists of Elizabeth's time. Attempts are sometimes made to read into these Rhymes a deeper significance than the obvious and simple one which has accounted for their enduring popularity in the Nursery, but this volume has no concern with such profound interpretations, any more than have the little people who love the old jingles best. The earliest known collection of Nursery Rhymes was published about 1760 by John Newbery, the first publisher who devoted his attention to very young readers. In his book, which included songs from the plays of Shakespeare, some of the Rhymes appeared with titles which sound strange to our ears; thus "Ding, Dong, Bell" was called "Plato's Song", while "There were Two Birds sat on a Stone" was "Aristotle's Song". To each Rhyme was appended a moral maxim, as for example, to "Is John Smith within?" is added "Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it". Most of the Rhymes in this little Newbery collection, amongst them "There was a little Man and he wooed a little Maid" and "The Wise Men of Gotham", are repeated in the present volume so far as may be in accordance with that early text. Others have been compared with early versions in chap-books issued late in the eighteenth century or early in the nineteenth. Students divide our rhymes into narrative pieces, historical, folk-lore, game rhymes, counting-out rhymes, jingles, fragments, and so forth, but for the children for whom and by whom they are remembered, and for whose sake they are here collected and pictured anew, they are just--Nursery Rhymes. CONTENTS The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 3 A AND B AND SEE A APPLE PIE A, B, C A CARRION CROW A DIFFICULT RHYME A DILLER, A DOLLAR A FALLING OUT A FROG HE WOULD A-WOOING GO ALL FOR WANT OF A NAIL A MEDLEY ANDREW A NICK AND A NOCK ANOTHER FALLING OUT A PIE SAT ON A PEAR-TREE A STRANGE SIGHT A SWARM OF BEES A VARIED SONG A WARNING A WAS AN ARCHER A WONDERFUL THING BAA, BAA, BLACK SHEEP BABY BUNTING BANDY-LEGS BAT, BAT BESSIE BELL AND MARY GRAY BETTY WINKLE'S PIG BILLY, BILLY BIRDS OF A FEATHER BLOW, WIND, BLOW! BLUE BELL BOY BOBBY SHAFT BOBBY SNOOKS BOW-WOW, SAYS THE DOG BOYS AND GIRLS BRIAN O'LIN BUTTONS BUY ME A MILKING-PAIL BUZ AND HUM CÆSAR'S SONG CAT AND DOG CHARLEY, CHARLEY CHRISTMAS CLAP HANDIES COCK-A-DOODLE-DO COCK-A-DOODLE-DO COCK-CROW COCK ROBIN'S COURTING COFFEE AND TEA COMICAL FOLK CROSS-PATCH CURLY LOCKS CUSHY COW DAFFY-DOWN-DILLY DAME TROT DANCE, LITTLE BABY DANCE TO YOUR DADDIE DANTY BABY DEAR, DEAR! DICKERY, DICKERY, DARE DIDDLE DIDDLE DUMPLING DIDDLEY-DIDDLEY-DUMPTY DING, DONG, BELL DOCTOR FAUSTUS DOCTOR FELL DOCTOR FOSTER EARLY RISING ELIZABETH, ELSPETH, BETSY, AND BESS FEETIKINS FINGERS AND TOES FOR EVERY EVIL FORTUNE-TELLING BY CHERRY-STONES FORTUNE-TELLING BY DAISY PETALS GEORGY PORGY GOING TO ST. IVES GOOD-FRIDAY SONG GOOD KING ARTHUR GOOSEY, GOOSEY, GANDER GRACE BEFORE MEAT GREEN GRAVEL HANDY PANDY HARK, HARK! THE DOGS DO BARK HECTOR PROTECTOR HEY! DIDDLE, DIDDLE HO MY KITTEN HOW DO YOU DO? HUMPTY-DUMPTY HUSH-A-BYE, BABY HUSH-A-BYE, BABY HUSH, BABY, MY DOLLY IF IF WISHES WERE HORSES I HAD A LITTLE PONY I LIKE LITTLE PUSSY I'LL TELL YOU A STORY I'LL TRY I LOVE SIXPENCE IN MARBLE HALLS I SAW A SHIP A-SAILING JACK AND JILL JACK'S FIDDLE JACK JINGLE JACK SPRAT'S PIG JERRY AND JAMES AND JOHN JOHN COOK'S GREY MARE JOHNNY KING PIPPIN'S HALL LADY-BIRD, LADY-BIRD LAVENDER BLUE LENGTHENING DAYS LITTLE BETTY BLUE LITTLE BO-PEEP LITTLE BOY BLUE LITTLE GIRL, LITTLE GIRL LITTLE JACK HORNER LITTLE JENNY WREN LITTLE MAID LITTLE MISS MUFFET LITTLE ROBIN REDBREAST LITTLE TOM TUCKER LONDON BRIDGE LUCY LOCKET MARGERY DAW MARY, MARY MARY'S CANARY MASTER I HAVE MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, AND JOHN MERRY ARE THE BELLS MONDAY'S CHILD MORE ABOUT JACK JINGLE MOTHER GOOSE MY BLACK HEN MY BOY TAMMIE MY LADY WIND MY MAID MARY NANCY DAWSON NANNY ETTICOAT NEEDLES AND PINS NONSENSE NOTHING-AT-ALL OF ARITHMETIC OF GOING TO BED OF PIGS OF THE CUTTING OF NAILS OF WASHING OLD CHAIRS TO MEND OLD KING COLE OLD MOTHER HUBBARD OLD WOMAN, OLD WOMAN ONE MISTY, MOISTY MORNING ONE, TWO ONE, TWO, THREE, AND FOUR LEGS OVER THE WATER TO CHARLEY PANCAKE DAY PEG PETER PIPER PETER WHITE POLLY FLINDERS POLLY, PUT THE KETTLE ON POOR OLD ROBINSON CRUSOE POOR ROBIN PUNCH AND JUDY PUSSY CAT PUSSYCAT MEW QUEEN ANNE RIDE A COCK-HORSE RIDE AWAY, RIDE AWAY ROBIN-A-ROBIN ROBIN AND RICHARD ROBIN AND WREN ROBIN, THE BOBBIN ROCK-A-BY, BABY SAINT SWITHIN'S DAY SAMMY SOAPSUDS SATURDAY, SUNDAY SEE, SEE! SEEKING A WIFE SHAVE A PIG SIMON BRODIE'S COW SIMPLE SIMON SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE SING IVY SING, SING! SIX LITTLE MICE SLEEP, BABY, SLEEP SNAIL SOLOMON GRUNDY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY SULKY SUE TAFFY WAS A WELSHMAN TELL-TALE-TIT TEN FINGERS THE BLACKSMITH THE BOY AND THE OWL THE BURNY BEE THE CODLIN WOMAN THE CROOKED SONG THE CUCKOO THE DAYS OF THE MONTH THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF COCK ROBIN THE DIVISION OF LABOUR THE DOVE AND THE WREN THE FARMER AND HIS DAUGHTER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER THE FLY AND THE HUMBLE-BEE THE FOUNT OF LEARNING THE FOX AND THE GOOSE THE GIRL IN THE LANE THE HART THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT THE JOLLY MILLER THE KILKENNY CATS THE KING OF FRANCE THE LADY AND THE SWINE THE LATEST NEWS THE LIGHT-HEARTED FAIRY THE LION AND THE UNICORN THE LITTLE CLOCK THE LITTLE COCK SPARROW THE LITTLE GUINEA-PIG THE LITTLE HUSBAND THE LITTLE MAN WITH A GUN THE LITTLE MOPPET THE LITTLE MOUSE THE LOVING BROTHERS THE MAN AND HIS CALF THE MAN IN THE MOON THE MAN IN THE WILDERNESS THE MAN OF THESSALY THE MERCHANTS OF The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 4 LONDON THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR THE MOUSE AND THE MILLER THE MOUSE RAN UP THE CLOCK THE NUT-TREE THE OBSTINATE PIG THE OLD WOMAN TOSSED IN A BASKET THE OLD WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A SHOE THE ORANGE STEALER THE OWL IN THE OAK THE PIPER'S COW THE PUMPKIN EATER THE QUARRELSOME KITTENS THE QUEEN OF HEARTS THE ROSE IS RED THE SONG OF MYSELF THE TAILORS AND THE SNAIL THE THREE KITTENS THE WAY TO LONDON TOWN THE WIND THE WISE MEN OF GOTHAM THE WOOING THERE WAS A BUTCHER THERE WAS A LITTLE BOY THERE WAS A LITTLE MAN THERE WAS A MAN THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN THOMAS A' TATTAMUS THREE BLIND MICE THREE BRETHREN OUT OF SPAIN THREE CHILDREN SLIDING THREE JOLLY WELSHMEN THREE MEN IN A TUB THREE SHIPS TIT-TAT-TOE TOAD AND FROG TO BABYLON TO BED! TO MARKET TOMMY'S CAKE TOMMY TITTLEMOUSE TOM, THE PIPER'S SON TOM, TOM, THE PIPER'S SON TONGS TO THE BIRDS TO THE HAYFIELD TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR TWO LITTLE BIRDS TWO LITTLE DOGS UP HILL AND DOWN DALE UP PIPPEN HILL WASH ME AND COMB ME WEE WILLIE WINKIE WHAT ARE LITTLE BOYS MADE OF? WHAT CARE I? WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY WHERE ARE YOU GOING? WING, WANG, WADDLE, OH! WINTER HAS COME YANKEE DOODLE "Herebe! ginsthe!! bigbo !!! okofnur!!!! se!ryrh!ymes!" THE QUEEN of HEARTS The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts, All on a summer's day; The Knave of Hearts he stole those tarts, And took them clean away. The King of Hearts called for those tarts, And beat the Knave full sore. The Knave of Hearts brought back those tarts, And vowed he'd steal no more. SAINT SWITHIN'S DAY St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain; St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair, For forty days 't will rain no more. DANCE TO YOUR DADDIE Dance to your daddie, My bonnie laddie, Dance to your daddie, my bonnie lamb! You shall get a fishie On a little dishie, You shall get a fishie when the boat comes hame! Dance to your daddie, My bonnie laddie, Dance to your daddie, and to your mammie sing! You shall get a coatie, And a pair of breekies, You shall get a coatie when the boat comes in! THE MAN IN THE MOON The man in the moon Came tumbling down And asked the way to Norwich; He went by the south, And burnt his mouth With eating cold pease porridge. SIMPLE SIMON Simple Simon met a pie-man, Going to the fair; Says Simple Simon to the pie-man, "Let me taste your ware." Says the pie-man unto Simon, "First give me a penny." Says Simple Simon to the pie-man, "I have not got any." The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 5 He went to catch a dicky-bird, And thought he could not fail, Because he had got a little salt To put upon his tail. He went to ride a spotted cow, That had got a little calf, She threw him down upon the ground, Which made the people laugh. Then Simple Simon went a-hunting, For to catch a hare, He rode a goat about the street, But could not find one there. He went for to eat honey Out of the mustard-pot, He bit his tongue until he cried, That was all the good he got. Simple Simon went a-fishing For to catch a whale; And all the water he had got Was in his mother's pail. He went to take a bird's nest, Was built upon a bough; A branch gave way, and Simon fell Into a dirty slough. He went to shoot a wild duck, But the wild duck flew away; Says Simon, "I can't hit him, Because he will not stay." Once Simon made a great Snowball, And brought it in to roast; He laid it down before the fire, And soon the ball was lost. He went to slide upon the ice, Before the ice would bear; Then he plunged in above his knees, Which made poor Simon stare. He went to try if cherries ripe Grew upon a thistle; He pricked his finger very much, Which made poor Simon whistle. He washed himself with blacking-ball, Because he had no soap: Then, then, said to his mother, "I'm a beauty now, I hope." He went for water in a sieve, But soon it all ran through; And now poor Simple Simon Bids you all adieu. TOAD AND FROG "Croak," said the toad, "I'm hungry I think, To-day I've had nothing to eat or to drink; I'll crawl to a garden and jump through the pales, And there I'll dine nicely on slugs and on snails." "Ho, ho!" quoth the frog, "is that what you mean? Then I'll hop away to the next meadow stream, There I will drink, and eat worms and slugs too, And then I shall have a good dinner like you." LITTLE JACK HORNER Little Jack Horner Sat in a corner Eating of Christmas pie; He put in his thumb, And pulled out a plum, And cried "What a good boy was I!" THE WOOING There was a little man, Who wooed a little maid; And he said: "Little maid, will you wed, wed, wed? I have little more to say, So will you ay or nay For the least said is soonest mend-ed, ded, ded." The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 6 Then the little maid replied: "Should I be your little bride, Pray what must we have for to eat, eat, eat? Will the flame that you're so rich in Light a fire in the kitchen? Or the little god of Love turn the spit, spit, spit?" HANDY PANDY Handy Pandy, Jack-a-Dandy, Loves plum-cake and sugar-candy; He bought some at a grocer's shop, And out he came, hop, hop, hop. THE KILKENNY CATS There were once two cats of Kilkenny, Each thought there was one cat too many; So they fought and they fit, And they scratched and they bit, Till, excepting their nails And the tips of their tails, Instead of two cats, there weren't any. BLOW WIND BLOW 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. ONE, TWO, THREE, AND FOUR LEGS Two legs sat upon three legs, With one leg in his lap; In comes four legs, And runs away with one leg. Up jumps two legs, Catches up three legs, Throws it after four legs, And makes him bring back one leg. BLUE BELL BOY I had a little boy, And called him Blue Bell; Gave him a little work, He did it very well. I bade him go upstairs To bring me a gold pin; In coal-scuttle fell he, Up to his little chin. He went to the garden To pick a little sage; He tumbled on his nose, And fell into a rage. He went to the cellar To draw a little beer; And quickly did return To say there was none there. COCK-A-DOODLE-DO Cock-a-doodle-do! My dame has lost her shoe; My master's lost his fiddle-stick, And don't know what to do. Cock-a-doodle-do! What is my dame to do? Till master finds his fiddle-stick, She'll dance without her shoe. JOHN COOK'S GREY MARE John Cook had a little grey mare; he, haw, hum! Her back stood up, and her bones they were bare; he, haw, hum! John Cook was riding up Shuter's bank; he, haw, hum! And there his nag did kick and prank; he, haw, hum! John Cook was riding up Shuter's hill; he, haw, hum! His mare fell down, and she made her will; he, haw, hum! The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 7 The bridle and saddle were laid on the shelf; he, haw, hum! If you want any more you may sing it yourself; he, haw, hum! BUZ AND HUM Buz, quoth the blue fly, Hum, quoth the bee, Buz and hum they cry, And so do we. In his ear, in his nose, Thus, do you see? He ate the dormouse, Else it was he. TOMMY TITTLEMOUSE Little Tommy Tittlemouse Lived in a little house; He caught fishes In other men's ditches. A AND B AND SEE Great A, little a, bouncing B, The cat's in the cupboard and she can't see. DOCTOR FOSTER Doctor Foster went to Glo'ster, In a shower of rain; He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle, And never went there again. DAFFY DOWN DILLY Daffy-down-dilly has come to town, In a yellow petticoat, and a green gown. QUEEN ANNE Queen Anne, Queen Anne, you sit in the sun, As fair as a lily, as white as a wand. I send you three letters, and pray read one, You must read one, if you can't read all So pray Miss or Master throw up the ball. HO MY KITTEN Ho my kitten, a kitten, And ho! my kitten, my deary! Such a sweet pet as this Was neither far nor neary. Here we go up, up, up, Here we go down, down, down; Here we go backwards and forwards, And here we go round, round, round. LAVENDER BLUE Lavender blue and rosemary green, When I am king you shall be queen; Call up my maids at four o'clock, Some to the wheel and some to the rock, Some to make hay and some to shear corn, And you and I will keep ourselves warm. THE QUARRELSOME KITTENS Two little kittens one stormy night, They began to quarrel and they began to fight; One had a mouse and the other had none, And that's the way the quarrel begun. "I'll have that mouse," said the biggest cat. "You'll have that mouse? we'll see about that!" "I will have that mouse," said the eldest son. "You sha'n't have the mouse," said the little one. The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 8 I told you before 't was a stormy night When these two little kittens began to fight; The old woman seized her sweeping broom, And swept the two kittens right out of the room. The ground was covered with frost and snow, And the two little kittens had nowhere to go; So they laid them down on the mat at the door, While the old woman finished sweeping the floor. Then they crept in, as quiet as mice, All wet with the snow, and as cold as ice, For they found it was better, that stormy night, To lie down and sleep than to quarrel and fight. THE FLY AND THE HUMBLE-BEE Fiddle-de-dee, fiddle-de-dee, The fly shall marry the humble-bee; They went to church and married was she, The fly has married the humble-bee. CAT AND DOG Pussy sits beside 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." BOBBY SHAFT Bobby Shaft is gone to sea, With silver buckles at his knee; When he'll come home he'll marry me, Pretty Bobby Shaft! Bobby Shaft is fat and fair, Combing down his yellow hair; He's my love for evermore! Pretty Bobby Shaft! THE LITTLE CLOCK There's a neat little clock, In the schoolroom it stands, And it points to the time With its two little hands. And may we, like the clock, Keep a face clean and bright, With hands ever ready To do what is right. LITTLE MAID "Little maid, pretty maid, whither goest thou?" "Down in the forest to milk my cow." "Shall I go with thee?" "No, not now; When I send for thee, then come thou." BAT, BAT Bat, bat, Come under my hat, And I'll give you a slice of bacon; And when I bake, I'll give you a cake, If I am not mistaken. CHRISTMAS Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat, Please to put a penny in an old man's hat; If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do, If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you. The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 9 PETER WHITE Peter White will ne'er go right, And would you know the reason why? He follows his nose where'er he goes, And that stands all awry. SLEEP BABY SLEEP Sleep, baby, sleep, Our cottage vale is deep; The little lamb is on the green, With woolly fleece so soft and clean-- Sleep, baby, sleep! Sleep, baby, sleep, Down where the woodbines creep; Be always like the lamb so mild, A kind, and sweet, and gentle child-- Sleep, baby, sleep! UP PIPPEN HILL As I was going up Pippen Hill, Pippen Hill was dirty; There I met a pretty miss, And she dropped me a curtsey. Little miss, pretty miss, Blessings light upon you! If I had half a crown a day, I'd spend it all upon you. A FALLING OUT A little old man and I fell out; How shall we bring this matter about? Bring it about as well as you can; Get you gone, you little old man. TOM, THE PIPER'S SON Tom, Tom, the piper's son, Stole a pig and away he run! The pig was eat and Tom was beat, And Tom went howling down the street. PEG Peg, Peg, with a wooden leg, Her father was a miller; He tossed the dumpling at her head, And said he could not kill her. A DIFFICULT RHYME What is the rhyme for porringer? The king he had a daughter fair, And gave the Prince of Orange her. THE OLD WOMAN TOSSED IN A BASKET There was an old woman tossed up in a basket Seventeen times as high as the moon; Where she was going I couldn't but ask it, For in her hand she carried a broom. "Old woman, old woman, old woman," quoth I, "Where are you going to up so high?" "To brush the cobwebs off the sky!" "May I go with thee?" "Aye, by-and-by." POOR OLD ROBINSON CRUSOE Poor old Robinson Crusoe! Poor old Robinson Crusoe! They made him a coat Of an old nanny goat, I wonder why they could do so! With a ring a ting tang, And a ring a ting tang, Poor old Robinson Crusoe! The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes, by Various 10 TWO LITTLE DOGS Two little dogs sat by the fire, Over a fender of coal-dust; When one said to the other dog, "If Pompey won't talk, why, I must." SATURDAY, SUNDAY On Saturday night Shall be all my care To powder my locks And curl my hair. On Sunday morning My love will come in, When he will marry me With a gold ring. MERCHANTS of LONDON Hey diddle dinkety, poppety, pet. The merchants of London they wear scarlet; Silk in the collar, and gold in hem, So merrily march the merchantmen. THE OWL IN THE OAK There was an owl lived in an oak, Whiskey, whaskey, weedle; And all the words he ever spoke Were fiddle, faddle, feedle. A sportsman chanced to come that way, Whiskey, whaskey, weedle; Says he, "I'll shoot you, silly bird, So fiddle, faddle, feedle!" GEORGY PORGY Georgy Porgy, pudding and pie, Kissed the girls and made them cry. When the boys came out to play, Georgy Porgy ran away. TO MARKET To market, to market, To buy a fat pig; Home again, home again, Jiggety jig. To market, to market, To buy a fat hog; Home again, home again, Jiggety jog. THE LITTLE GUINEA-PIG There was a little Guinea-Pig, Who, being little, was not big; He always walked upon his feet, And never fasted when he eat. When from a place he ran away, He never at that place did stay; And while he ran, as I am told, He ne'er stood still for young or old.