Little Bo-peep

37

JACK AND JILL

JACK and Jill went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water;

Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.

Up Jack got and home did trot
As fast as he could caper,

And went to bed to mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS

THE Queen of Hearts
She made some tarts,

All on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts

He stole those tarts,

And with them ran away.

The King of Hearts

Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts

Brought back the tarts,

And vowed he'd steal no more!

LITTLE BO-PEEP

LITTLE BO-peep, she lost her sheep,
And can't tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they'll come home,
And bring their tails behind them.

Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,

And dreamed she heard them bleating; But when she awoke, she found it a joke, For they still were all fleeting.

Then up she took her little crook,

Determined for to find them;

She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they'd left their tails behind them!

It happened one day, as Bo-peep did stray,
Unto a meadow hard by,

There she espied their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.

She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks she raced;

And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,
That each tail should be properly placed.

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,
Which was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And 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.

In confidence may bind,

And make them follow at your will,
If you are only kind.

39

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 blazing sun is set,
And the grass with dew is wet,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see where to go
If you did not twinkle so.

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 traveler in the dark,

Though I know not what you are,

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Jane Taylor [1783-1824]

"SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE”

SING a song of sixpence,

A pocket full of rye;

Four-and-twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie;

When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing;
Was not that a dainty dish
To set before the King?

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

The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes;
When up 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.

"I LOVE SIXPENCE"

I LOVE Sixpence, pretty little sixpence,
I love sixpence, better than my life;
I spent a penny of it, I gave a penny of it,
And I took fourpence home to my wife.

"When I Was a Bachelor"

Oh, my little fourpence, pretty little fourpence,
I love fourpence better than my life;

I spent a penny of it, I gave a penny of it,
And I took twopence home to my wife.

Oh, my little twopence, pretty little twopence,
I love twopence better than my life;
I spent a penny of it, I gave a penny of it,
And I took nothing home to my wife.

Oh, my little nothing, pretty little nothing,
What will nothing buy for my wife?

I have nothing, I spend nothing,

I love nothing better than my wife.

"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 him 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

They made such a strife,

I was forced to go to London
To buy me a wife.

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