The Nursery Rhymes of England Part 27

One said it was the moon, The other he said, nay; The third said it was a cheese, And half o't cut away.

And all the day they hunted, And nothing could they find But a hedgehog in a bramble bush, And that they left behind.

The first said it was a hedgehog, The second he said, nay; The third it was a pincus.h.i.+on, And the pins stuck in wrong way.

And all the night they hunted, And nothing could they find But a hare in a turnip field, And that they left behind.

The first said it was a hare, The second he said, nay; The third said it was a calf, And the cow had run away.

And all the day they hunted, And nothing could they find But an owl in a holly tree, And that they left behind.

One said it was an owl, The other he said, nay; The third said 'twas an old man, And his beard growing grey.

CCXCI.

Is John Smith within?-- Yes, that he is.

Can he set a shoe?-- Ay, marry, two, Here a nail, there a nail, Tick, tack, too.

CCXCII.

Margery Mutton-pie, and Johnny Bopeep, They met together in Grace-church Street; In and out, in and out, over the way, Oh! says Johnny, 'tis chop-nose day.

CCXCIII.

Intery, mintery, cutery-corn, Apple seed and apple thorn; Wine, brier, limber-lock, Five geese in a flock, Sit and sing by a spring, O-U-T, and in again.

CCXCIV.

[The game of water-skimming is of high antiquity, being mentioned by Julius Pollux, and also by Eustathius, in his commentary upon Homer. Brand quotes a curious pa.s.sage from Minucius Felix; but all antiquaries seem to have overlooked the very curious notice in Higgins' adaptation of Junius's 'Nomenclator,' 8vo, London, 1585, p. 299, where it is called "a duck and a drake, and a halfe-penie cake." Thus it is probable that lines like the following were employed in this game as early as 1585; and it may be that the last line has recently furnished a hint to Mathews in his amusing song in 'Patter _v_. Clatter.']

A duck and a drake, A nice barley-cake, With a penny to pay the old baker; A hop and a scotch, Is another notch, Slitherum, slatherum, take her.

CCXCV.

See, Saw, Margery Daw, Sold her bed and lay upon straw; Was not she a dirty s.l.u.t, To sell her bed and lie in the dirt!

CCXCVI.

See, saw, Margery Daw, Little Jackey shall have a new master; Little Jackey shall have but a penny a day, Because he can't work any faster.

CCXCVII.

1. I am a gold lock.

2. I am a gold key.

1. I am a silver lock.

2. I am a silver key.

1. I am a bra.s.s lock.

2. I am a bra.s.s key.

1. I am a lead lock.

2. I am a lead key.

1. I am a monk lock.

2. I am a monk key!

CCXCVIII.

Ride a c.o.c.k-horse to Banbury-cross, To buy little Johnny a galloping-horse; It trots behind, and it ambles before, And Johnny shall ride till he can ride no more.

CCXCIX.

Ride a c.o.c.k-horse to Banbury-cross, To see what Tommy can buy; A penny white loaf, a penny white cake, And a twopenny apple-pie.

CCC.

Jack be nimble, And Jack be quick: And Jack jump over The candle-stick.

CCCI.

[This should be accompanied by a kind of pantomimic dance, in which the motions of the body and arms express the process of weaving; the motion of the shuttle, &c.]

Weave the diaper tick-a-tick tick, Weave the diaper tick-- Come this way, come that As close as a mat, Athwart and across, up and down, round about, And forwards, and backwards, and inside, and out; Weave the diaper thick-a-thick thick, Weave the diaper thick!

CCCII.

[Used in Somersets.h.i.+re in counting out the game of pee-wip or pee wit.]

One-ery, two-ery, hickary, hum, Fillison, follison, Nicholson, John, Quever, quauver, Irish Mary, Stenkarum, stankarum, buck!

CCCIII.

Whoop, whoop, and hollow, Good dogs won't follow, Without the hare cries "pee wit."

CCCIV.

Tom Brown's two little Indian boys, One ran away, The other wouldn't stay,-- Tom Brown's two little Indian boys.