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How does your garden grow?
With cockle-shells, and silver bells,
And pretty maids all in a row.
* * * * *
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.
Every fiddler, he had a 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 old King Cole and his fiddlers three!
MOTHER HUBBARD AND HER DOG
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To get her poor dog a bone;
But when she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread;
But when she came back,
The poor dog was dead.
She went to the joiner's
To buy him a coffin;
But when she came back.
The poor dog was laughing.
She took a clean dish
To get him some tripe;
But when she came back,
He was smoking his pipe.
She went to the fishmonger's
To buy him some fish;
And when she came back,
He was licking the dish.
She went to the ale-house
To get him some beer;
But when she came back,
The dog sat in a chair.
She went to the tavern
For white wine and red;
But when she came back,
The dog stood on his head.
She went to the hatter's
To buy him a hat;
But when she came back,
He was feeding the cat.
She went to the barber's
To buy him a wig;
But when she came back,
He was dancing a jig.
She went to the fruiterer's
To buy him some fruit;
But when she came back,
He was playing the flute.
She went to the tailor's
To buy him a coat;
But when she came back,
He was riding a goat.
She went to the cobbler's
To buy him some shoes;
But when she came back,
He was reading the news.
She went to the seamstress
To buy him some linen;
But when she came back,
The dog was spinning.
She went to the hosiers
To buy him some hose;
But when she came back,
He was dressed in his clothes.
The dame made a curtsy,
The dog made a bow;
The dame said, Your servant,
The dog said; Bow, wow.
RUNAWAY BROOK.
"Stop, stop, pretty water!"
Said Mary one day,
To a frolicsome brook,
That was running away.
"You run on so fast!
I wish you would stay;
My boat and my flowers
You will carry away.
"But I will run after:
Mother says that I may;
For I would know where
You are running away."
So Mary ran on;
But I have heard say,
That she never could find
Where the brook ran away.
BED IN SUMMER.
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
AT THE SEASIDE
When I was down beside the sea
A wooden spade they gave to me
To dig the sandy shore.
My holes were empty like a cup,
In every hole the sea came up,
Till it could come no more.
THE MEETING OF THE SHIPS.
When o'er the silent seas alone,
For days and nights we've cheerless gone,
Oh, they who've felt it know how sweet,
Some sunny morn a sail to meet.
Sparkling at once is ev'ry eye,
"Ship ahoy! ship ahoy!" our joyful cry;
While answering back the sounds we hear,
"Ship ahoy! ship ahoy! what cheer? what cheer?"
Then sails are back'd, we nearer come,
Kind words are said of friends and home;
And soon, too soon, we part with pain,
To sail o'er silent seas again.
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS.
A barking dog seldom bites.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
A cat may look at a king.
A chip of the old block.
A day after the fair.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in
seven years.
A fool may make money, but it needs a wise man to spend it.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
A good garden may have some weeds.
A good workman is known by his chips.
A hard beginning makes a good ending.
* * * * *
Three little kittens lost their mittens,
And they began to cry:
"O mother dear, we very much fear
That we have lost our mittens."
"Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie."
"Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow!
And we can have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow!"
* * * * *
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.
* * * * *
One misty, moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man
Clothed all in leather;
He began to compliment,
And I began to grin,--
"How do you do," and "How do you do,"
And "How do you do" again!
* * * * *
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
* * * * *
Rid a cock-horse to Banbury-cross
To see an old lady upon a white horse,
Rings on her fingers, and bells on her toes,
And so she makes music wherever she goes.
* * * * *
Three wise men of Gotham
Went to sea in a bowl;
If the bowl had been stronger,
My song would have been longer.
* * * * *
See, saw, sacradown,
Which is the way to London town?
One foot up, the other foot down,
And that is the way to London town.
* * * * *
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.
PRETTY COW.
Thank you? pretty cow, that made
Pleasant milk to soak my bread,
Every day and every night,
Warm, and fresh, and sweet, and white.
Do not chew the hemlock rank,
Growing on the weedy bank;
But the yellow cowslips eat,
That will make it very sweet.
Where the purple violet grows,
Where the bubbling water flows,
Where the grass is fresh and fine.
Pretty cow, go there and dine.
THE STAR.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star;
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
When the glorious sun is set,
When the grass with dew is wet,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep;
For you never shut your eye
Till the sun is in the sky.
As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
MARY'S LAMB.
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school one day,--
That was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school.
So the teacher turned him out,
But still he lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
Till Mary did appear.
Then he ran to her, and laid
His head upon her arm,
As if he said, "I'm not afraid,--
You'll keep me from all harm."
"What makes the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cry.
"Oh, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
The teacher did reply.
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS.
A watched pot never boils.
After dinner sit awhile; after supper walk a mile.
All his fingers are thumbs.
All is fish that comes to the net.
All is not gold that glitters.
All's well that ends well.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All your geese are swans.
Always taking out of the meal tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the
bottom.
An inch on a man's nose is much.
An old bird is not caught with chaff.
An old dog will learn no new tricks.
As bare as the back of my hand.
* * * * *
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.
* * * * *
The King of France went up the hill,
With twenty thousand men;
The King of France came down the hill,
And ne'er went up again.
* * * * *
The man in the wilderness asked me,
How many strawberries grew in the sea.
I answered him, as I thought good,
As many red herrings as grew in the wood.
* * * * *
There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile:
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
* * * * *
Tom, Tom, the piper's son,
Stole a pig and away he run!
The pig was eat, and Tom was beat,
And Tom went roaring down the street.
* * * * *
There was 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.
* * * * *
There was a man of our town,
And he was wondrous wise;
He jumped into a bramble bush,
And scratched out both his eyes:
And when he saw his eyes were out,
With all his might and main
He jumped into another bush,
And scratched 'em in again.
* * * * *
1. This pig went to market;
2. This pig stayed at home;
3. This pig had a bit of meat;
4. And this pig had none;
5. This pig said, "Wee, wee, wee! I can't find my way home."
* * * * *
Tom, Tom, of Islington,
Married a wife on Sunday;
Brought her home on Monday;
Hired a house on Tuesday;
Fed her well on Wednesday;
Sick was she on Thursday;
Dead was she on Friday;
Sad was Tom on Saturday,
To bury his wife on Sunday.
WEE WILLIE WINKIE.
Wee Willie Winkie
Runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs,
In his night-gown;
Tapping at the window,
Crying at the lock,
"Are the babes in their bed?
For it's now ten o'clock."
SINGING.
Of speckled eggs the birdie sings
And nests among the trees;
The sailor sings of ropes and things
In ships upon the seas.
The children sing in far Japan,
The children sing in Spain;
The organ with the organ man
Is singing in the rain.
THE COW.
The friendly cow all red and white,
I love with all my heart;
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.
She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;
And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers.
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.
GOOD-NIGHT AND GOOD-MORNING.
A fair little girl sat under a tree,
Sewing as long as her eyes could see;
Then smoothed her work and folded it right
And said, "Dear work, good-night, good-night!"
Such a number of rooks came over her head,
Crying "Caw! Caw!" on their way to bed,
She said, as she watched their curious flight,
"Little black things, good-night, good-night!"
The horses neighed, and the oxen lowed,
The sheep's "Bleat! Bleat!" came over the road;
All seeming to say, with a quiet delight,
"Good little girl, good-night, good-night!"
She did not say to the sun, "Good-night!"
Though she saw him there like a ball of light;
For she knew he had God's time to keep
All over the world and never could sleep.
The tall pink foxglove bowed his head;
The violets curtsied, and went to bed;
And good little Lucy tied up her hair,
And said, on her knees, her favorite prayer.
And while on her pillow she softly lay,
She knew nothing more till again it was day;
And all things said to the beautiful sun,
"Good-morning, good-morning! our work is begun."
MOTHER'S EYES.
What are the songs the mother sings?
Of birds and flowers and pretty things;
Baby lies in her arms and spies
All his world in the mother's eyes.
What are the tales the mother tells?
Of gems and jewels and silver bells;
Baby lies in her arms and spies
All his wealth in the mother's eyes.
What are the thoughts in the mother's mind?
Of the gentle Saviour, loving and kind;
Baby lies in her arms and spies
All his heaven in the mother's eyes.
THE LAND OF NOD.
From breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.
All by myself I have to go,
With, none to tell me what to do--
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain sides of dreams.
The strangest things are there for me,
Both things to eat and things to see,
And many frightening sights abroad,
Till morning in the land of Nod.
Try as I like to find the way,
I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear.
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS.
A lass that has many wooers oft fares the worst.
A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy.
A little leak will sink a great ship.
A living dog is better than a dead lion.
A man of words, and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds.
A man's house is his castle.
A miss is as good as a mile.
A penny for your thought.
A penny saved is a penny got.
A rolling stone will gather no moss.
A small spark makes a great fire.
A stitch in time saves nine.
A tree is known by its fruit.
* * * * *
When I was a little boy, I lived by myself,
And all the bread and cheese I got I put upon the shelf;
The rats and the mice did lead me such a life,
I was forced to go to London to buy me a wife.
The streets were so broad, and the lanes were so narrow,
I could not get my wife home without a wheelbarrow;
The wheelbarrow broke, my wife got a fall,
Down tumbled wheelbarrow, little wife, and all.
* * * * *
Where are you going, my pretty maid?
"I'm going a-milking, sir," she said.
May I go with you, my pretty maid?
"You're kindly welcome, sir," she said.
What is your father, my pretty maid?
"My father's a farmer, sir," she said.
Say, will you marry me, my pretty maid?
"Yes, if you please, kind sir," she said.
Will you be constant, my pretty maid?
"That I can't promise you, sir," she said.
Then I won't marry you, my pretty maid!
"Nobody asked you, sir!" she said.
* * * * *
Who killed Cock Robin?
"I," said the Sparrow,
"With my bow and arrow,
I killed Cock Robin."
Who saw him die?
"I," said the Fly,
"With my little eye,
And I saw him die."
Who caught his blood?
"I," said the Fish,
"With my little dish,
And I caught his blood."
Who made his shroud?
"I," said the Beadle,
"With my little needle,
And I made his shroud."
Who shall dig his grave?
"I," said the Owl,
"With my spade and showl [shovel],
And I'll dig his grave."
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