The Real Mother Goose OLD KING COLE Old King Cole Was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he; He called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three! And every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle, And a very fine fiddle had he. "Twee tweedle dee, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers. Oh, there's none so rare As can compare With King Cole and his fiddlers three. SEE, SEE See, see! What shall I see? A horse's head where his tail should be. DAPPLE-GRAY 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. A WELL As round as an apple, as deep as a cup, And all the king's horses can't fill it up. COFFEE AND TEA Molly, my sister and I fell out, And what do you think it was all about? She loved coffee and I loved tea, And that was the reason we couldn't agree. PUSSY-CAT MEW Pussy-cat Mew 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. THE LITTLE GIRL WITH A CURL There was a little girl who had a little curl Right in the middle of her forehead; When she was good, she was very, very good, And when she was bad she was horrid. DREAMS Friday night's dream, on Saturday told, Is sure to come true, be it never so old. A COCK AND BULL STORY The cock's on the housetop blowing his horn; The bull's in the barn a-threshing of corn; The maids in the meadows are making of hay; The ducks in the river are swimming away. FOR BABY You shall have an apple, YOU shall have a plum, You shall have a rattle, When papa comes home. MYSELF As I walked by myself, And talked to myself, Myself said unto me: "Look to thyself, Take care of thyself, For nobody cares for thee." I answered myself, And said to myself In the selfsame repartee: "Look to thyself, Or not look to thyself, The selfsame thing will be." OVER THE WATER Over the water, and over the sea, And over the water to Charley, I'll have none of your nasty beef, Nor I'll have none of your barley; But I'll have some of your very best flour To make a white cake for my Charley. CANDLE-SAVING To make your candles last for aye, You wives and maids give ear-O! To put them out's the only way, Says honest John Boldero. FEARS AND TEARS Tommy's tears and Mary's fears Will make them old before their years. 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. OLD GRIMES Old Grimes is dead, that good old man, We ne'er shall see him more; He used to wear a long brown coat All buttoned down before. A WEEK OF BIRTHDAYS Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for its living, But the child that's born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay. A CHIMNEY Black within and red without; Four corners round about. LADYBIRD Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home! Your house is on fire, your children all gone, All but one, and her name is Ann, And she crept under the pudding pan. THE MAN WHO HAD NAUGHT There was a man and he had naught, And robbers came to rob him; He crept up to the chimney pot, And then they thought they had him. But he got down on t'other side, And then they could not find him; He ran fourteen miles in fifteen days, And never looked behind him. THE TAILORS AND THE SNAIL 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 e'en now. AROUND THE GREEN GRAVEL 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. INTERY, MINTERY Intery, mintery, cutery corn, Apple seed and apple thorn; Wire, brier, limber-lock, Five geese in a flock, Sit and sing by a spring, 0-u-t, and in again. CAESAR'S SONG Bow-wow-wow! Whose dog art thou? Little Tom Tinker's dog, Bow-wow-wow! AS I WAS GOING ALONG As I was going along, along, A-singing a comical song, song, song, The lane that I went was so long, long, long, And the song that I sang was so long, long, long, And so I went singing along. HECTOR PROTECTOR Hector Protector was dressed all in green; Hector Protector was sent to the Queen. The Queen did not like him, No more did the King; So Hector Protector was sent back again. BILLY, BILLY "Billy, Billy, come and play, While the sun shines bright as day." "Yes, my Polly, so I will, For I love to please you still." "Billy, Billy, have you seen Sam and Betsy on the green?" "Yes, my Poll, I saw them pass, Skipping o'er the new-mown grass." "Billy, Billy, come along, And I will sing a pretty song." ROCK-A-BYE, BABY Rock-a-bye, baby, thy cradle is green; Father's a nobleman, mother's a queen; And Betty's a lady, and wears a gold ring; And Johnny's a drummer, and drums for the king. THE MAN IN THE WILDERNESS The man in the wilderness Asked me How many strawberries Grew in the sea. I answered him As I thought good, As many as red herrings Grew in the wood. LITTLE JACK HORNER Little Jack Horner Sat in the corner, Eating of Christmas pie: He put in his thumb, And pulled out a plum, And said, "What a good boy am I!" THE BIRD SCARER Away, birds, away! Take a little and leave a little, And do not come again; For if you do, I will shoot you through, And there will be an end of you. MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? Silver bells and cockle-shells, And pretty maids all of a row. BESSY BELL AND MARY GRAY Bessy Bell and Mary Gray, They were two bonny lasses; They built their house upon the lea, And covered it with rushes. Bessy kept the garden gate, And Mary kept the pantry; Bessy always had to wait, While Mary lived in plenty. NEEDLES AND PINS Needles and pins, needles and pins, When a man marries his trouble begins. PUSSY-CAT AND THE DUMPLINGS Pussy-cat ate the dumplings, the dumplings, Pussy-cat ate the dumplings. Mamma stood by, and cried, "Oh, fie! Why did you eat the dumplings?" DANCE, THUMBKIN DANCE Dance, Thumbkin, dance; (keep the thumb in motion Dance, ye merrymen, everyone. (all the fingers in motion For Thumbkin, he can dance alone, (the thumb alone moving Thumbkin, he can dance alone. (the thumb alone moving Dance, Foreman, dance, (the first finger moving Dance, ye merrymen, everyone. (all moving But Foreman, he can dance alone, (the first finger moving Foreman, he can dance alone. (the first finger moving Dance, Longman, dance, (the second finger moving Dance, ye merrymen, everyone. (all moving For Longman, he can dance alone, (the second finger moving Longman, he can dance alone. (the second finger moving Dance, Ringman, dance, (the third finger moving Dance, ye merrymen, dance. (all moving But Ringman cannot dance alone, (the third finger moving Ringman, he cannot dance alone. (the third finger moving Dance, Littleman, dance, (the fourth finger moving Dance, ye merrymen, dance. (all moving But Littleman, he can dance alone, (the fourth finger moving Littleman he can dance alone. (the fourth finger moving MARY'S CANARY Mary had a pretty bird, Feathers bright and yellow, Slender legs--upon my word He was a pretty fellow! The sweetest note he always sung, Which much delighted Mary. She often, where the cage was hung, Sat hearing her canary. THE LITTLE BIRD Once I saw a little bird Come hop, hop, hop; So I cried, "Little bird, Will you stop, stop, stop?" And was going to the window To say, "How do you do?" But he shook his little tail, And far away he flew. BIRDS OF A FEATHER Birds of a feather flock together, And so will pigs and swine; Rats and mice will have their choice, And so will I have mine. THE DUSTY MILLER Margaret wrote a letter, Sealed it with her finger, Threw it in the dam For the dusty miller. Dusty was his coat, Dusty was the siller, Dusty was the kiss I'd from the dusty miller. If I had my pockets Full of gold and siller, I would give it all To my dusty miller. A STAR Higher than a house, higher than a tree. Oh! whatever can that be? THE GREEDY MAN The greedy man is he who sits And bites bits out of plates, Or else takes up an almanac And gobbles all the dates. THE TEN O'CLOCK SCHOLAR 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. COCK-A-DOODLE-DO Oh, my pretty cock, oh, my handsome cock, I pray you, do not crow before day, And your comb shall be made of the very beaten gold, And your wings of the silver so, gray. AN ICICLE Lives in winter, Dies in summer, And grows with its roots upward! A SHIP'S NAIL Over the water, And under the water, And always with its head down. THE OLD WOMAN OF LEEDS There was an old woman of Leeds, Who spent all her time in good deeds; She worked for the poor Till her fingers were sore, This pious old woman of Leeds! THE BOY IN THE BARN A little boy went, into a barn, And lay down on some hay. An owl came out, and flew about, And the little boy ran away. SUNSHINE Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more, On the King's kitchen door, All the King's horses, And all the King's men, Couldn't drive Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more, Off the King's kitchen door. WILLY, WILLY Willy, Willy Wilkin Kissed the maids a-milking, Fa, la, la! And with his merry daffing He set them all a-laughing, Ha, ha, ha! TONGS Long legs, crooked thighs, Little head, and no eyes. JACK JINGLE Little Jack Jingle, He used to live single; But when he got tired of this kind of life, He left off being single and lived with his wife. Now what do you think of little Jack Jingle? Before he was married he used to live single. THE QUARREL 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 noise begun, THE PUMPKIN-EATER Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater, Had a wife and couldn't keep her; He put her in a pumpkin shell, And there he kept her very well. SHOEING Shoe the colt, Shoe the colt, Shoe the wild mare; Here a nail, There a nail, Yet she goes bare. BETTY BLUE Little Betty Blue Lost her holiday shoe; What shall little Betty do? Give her another To match the other And then she'll walk upon two. THAT'S ALL There was an old woman sat spinning, And that's the first beginning; She had a calf, And that's half; She took it by the tail, And threw it over the wall, And that's all! BEDTIME The Man in the Moon looked out of the moon, Looked out of the moon and said, "'Tis time for all children on the earth To think about getting to bed!" DANCE, LITTLE BABY Dance, little Baby, dance up high! Never mind, Baby, Mother is by. Crow and caper, caper and crow, There, little Baby, there you go! Up to the ceiling, down to the ground, Backwards and forwards, round and round; Dance, little Baby and Mother will sing, With the merry coral, ding, ding, ding! MY LITTLE MAID High diddle doubt, my candle's out My little maid is not at home; Saddle my hog and bridle my dog, And fetch my little maid home. FOR WANT OF A NAIL For want of a nail, the shoe was lost; For want of the shoe, the horse was lost; For want of the horse, the rider was lost; For want of the rider, the battle was lost; For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. PEASE PORRIDGE Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, Nine days old. Some like it hot, Some like it cold, Some like it in the pot, Nine days old. RING A RING O' ROSES Ring a ring o' roses, A pocketful of posies. Tisha! Tisha! We all fall down. THE CROOKED SIXPENCE There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence beside a crooked stile; He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a little crooked house. THIS IS THE WAY This is the way the ladies ride, Tri, tre, tre, tree, Tri, tre, tre, tree! This is the way the ladies ride, Tri, tre, tre, tre, tri-tre-tre-tree! This is the way the gentlemen ride, Gallop-a-trot, Gallop-a-trot! This is the way the gentlemen ride, Gallop-a-gallop-a-trot! This is the way the farmers ride, Hobbledy-hoy, Hobbledy-hoy! This is the way the farmers ride, Hobbledy-hobbledy-hoy! DUCKS AND DRAKES A duck and a drake, And a halfpenny cake, With a penny to pay the old baker. A hop and a scotch Is another notch, Slitherum, slatherum, take her. THE DONKEY Donkey, donkey, old and gray, Ope your mouth and gently bray; Lift your ears and blow your horn, To wake the world this sleepy morn. IF If all the world were apple pie, And all the sea were ink, And all the trees were bread and cheese, What should we have for drink?