When the pie was opened The birds began to sing; The King was in his counting-house, The maid was in the garden SIMPLE SIMON SIMPLE Simon met a pieman Going to the fair; Says Simple Simon to the pieman, Says the pieman to Simple Simon, Simple Simon went a-fishing Simple Simon went to look If plums grew on a thistle; He pricked his fingers very much, THE BREAKFAST SONG At five o'clock he milks the cow, And pours it in the can. "When I Was a Bachelor" At seven o'clock the milkman's horse At five o'clock the Baby sleeps At six o'clock he laughs and shouts, At seven o'clock he's in his bath, Emilie Poulsson (1853 "I HAD A LITTLE HUSBAND " I HAD a little husband No bigger than my thumb; I put him in a pint pot, And there I bade him drum. I bought a little horse, That galloped up and down; I gave him some garters, To garter up his hose, And a little handkerchief, To wipe his pretty nose. "WHEN I WAS A BACHELOR " WHEN I was a bachelor I lived by myself; And all the bread and cheese I got I put upon the shelf. The rats and the mice 43 The streets were so bad, And the lanes were so narrow, The wheelbarrow broke, And my wife had a fall, Little wife and all. "JOHNNY SHALL HAVE A NEW BONNET” And why may not I love Johnny, And here's a leg for a stocking, And why may not I love Johnny, As well as another body? THE CITY MOUSE AND THE GARDEN MOUSE THE city mouse lives in a house;— The garden mouse lives in a bower, Christina Georgina Rossetti [1830-1894] 'Merry are the Bells" 45 ROBIN REDBREAST LITTLE Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree, Little Robin Redbreast jumped upon a wall, Pussy-cat jumped after him, and almost got a fall; Little Robin chirped and sang, and what did pussy say? Pussy-cat said naught but "Mew," and Robin flew away. SOLOMON GRUNDY SOLOMON Grundy, Born on a Monday, Solomon Grundy. "MERRY ARE THE BELLS" MERRY are the bells, and merry would they ring, Waddle goes your gait, and hollow are your hose: Merry have we met, and merry have we been; "WHEN GOOD KING ARTHUR RULED THIS LAND " WHEN good King Arthur ruled this land, He was a goodly king; He stole three pecks of barley meal, To make a bag-pudding. A bag-pudding the queen did make, The king and queen did eat thereof, And noblemen beside; And what they could not eat that night, The queen next morning fried. "I HAD A LITTLE DOGGY" I HAD a little Doggy that used to sit and beg; But Doggy tumbled down the stairs and broke his little leg. Oh! Doggy, I will nurse you, and try to make you well, And you shall have a collar with a little silver bell. Ah! Doggy, don't you think that you should very faith ful be, For having such a loving friend to comfort you as me? But, Doggy, you must promise (and mind your word you keep) Not once to tease the little lambs, or run among the sheep; And then the little yellow chicks that play upon the grass, You must not even wag your tail to scare them as you pass. "A FARMER WENT TROTTING" A FARMER went trotting upon his gray mare; With his daughter behind him, so rosy and fair; |