When the pie was opened

The birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before the King?

The King was in his counting-house,
Counting out his money;
The Queen was in the parlor,
Eating bread and honey;

The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes;
When down came a blackbird,
And nipped off her nose.

SIMPLE SIMON

SIMPLE Simon met a pieman

Going to the fair;

Says Simple Simon to the pieman,
"Let me taste your ware."

Says the pieman to Simple Simon,
"Show me first your penny";
Says Simple Simon to the pieman.
"Indeed I have not any."

Simple Simon went a-fishing
For to catch a whale;
All the water he had got
Was in his mother's pail.

Simple Simon went to look

If plums grew on a thistle;

He pricked his fingers very much,
Which made poor Simon whistle.

THE BREAKFAST SONG

At five o'clock he milks the cow,
The busy farmer's man.
At six o'clock he strains the milk

And pours it in the can.

"When I Was a Bachelor"

At seven o'clock the milkman's horse
Must go to town-"get up!".
At eight o'clock Nurse Karen pours
The milk in Baby's cup.

At five o'clock the Baby sleeps
As sound as sound can be.

At six o'clock he laughs and shouts,
So wide awake is he.

At seven o'clock he's in his bath,
At eight o'clock he's dressed,
Just when the milk is ready, too,
So you can guess the rest.

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 bridled him and saddled him,
And sent him out of town.

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,
I was forced to bring my wife home
In a wheelbarrow.

The wheelbarrow broke,

And my wife had a fall,
Down came wheelbarrow,

Little wife and all.

"JOHNNY SHALL HAVE A NEW BONNET”
JOHNNY shall have a new bonnet,
And Johnny shall go to the fair,
And Johnny shall have a blue ribbon
To tie up his bonny brown hair.

And why may not I love Johnny,
And why may not Johnny love me?
And why may not I love Johnny
As well as another body?

And here's a leg for a stocking,
And here's a foot for a shoe;
And he has a kiss for his daddy,
And one for his mammy, too.

And why may not I love Johnny,
And why may not Johnny love me?
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,
He's friendly with the frogs and toads,
And sees the pretty plants in flower.
The city mouse eats bread and cheese;-
The garden mouse eats what he can;
We will not grudge him seeds and stocks,
Poor little timid furry man.

Christina Georgina Rossetti [1830-1894]

'Merry are the Bells"

45

ROBIN REDBREAST

LITTLE Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree,
Up went pussy-cat, and down went he;
Down came pussy-cat, and away Robin ran;
Said little Robin Redbreast, "Catch me if you can."

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,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday,
This is the end of

Solomon Grundy.

"MERRY ARE THE BELLS"

MERRY are the bells, and merry would they ring,
Merry was myself, and merry could I sing;
With a merry ding-dong, happy, gay, and free,
And a merry sing-song, happy let us be!'

Waddle goes your gait, and hollow are your hose:
Noddle goes your pate, and purple is your nose:
Merry is your sing-song, happy, gay, and free;
With a merry ding-dong, happy let us be!

Merry have we met, and merry have we been;
Merry let us part, and merry meet again;
With our merry sing-song, happy, gay, and free,
With a merry ding-dong, happy let us be!

"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,
And stuffed it well with plums:
And in it put great lumps of fat,
As big as my two thumbs.

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?
And when your leg is better, and you can run and play,
We'll have a scamper in the fields and see them making hay.

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;
Bumpety, bumpety, bump!

With his daughter behind him, so rosy and fair;
Lumpety, lumpety, lump!