Throws it after four-legs,

And makes him bring one-leg back.

(One-leg is a leg of mutton; two-legs, a man; three-legs, a stool; four-legs, a dog.)

114

The following is another good "tongue twister" (see No. 77). It is recommended for the little lisper, and in former days it was recommended as a sure cure for the hiccoughs.

When a twister a-twisting would twist him a twist,

For twisting a twist three twists he will twist;

But if one of the twists untwists from the twist.

The twist untwisting untwists the twist.

115

"Willy boy, Willy boy, where are you going?

I will go with you, if I may."

"I am going to the meadow to see them a-mowing,

I am going to see them make the hay."

116

No. 116 and the two rhymes following are by Miss Wilhelmina Seegmiller. (By permission of the publishers, Rand McNally & Co., Chicago.) Their presence will allow teachers to compare some widely and successfully used modern efforts with the traditional jingles in the midst of which they are placed.

MILKWEED SEEDS

As white as milk,

As soft as silk,

And hundreds close together: They sail away,

On an autumn day,

When windy is the weather.

117

AN ANNIVERSARY

Pop! fizz! bang! whizz!
Don't you know what day this is?

Fizz! bang! whizz! pop!
Hurrah for the Fourth!
and hippity-hop!

118

TWINK! TWINK! Twink, twink, twink, twink,

Twinkety, twinkety, twink! The fireflies light their lanterns, Then put them out in a wink. Twink, twink, twink, twink,

They light their light once more, Then twinkety, twinkety, twink, twink, They put them out as before.

Nos. 119-146 are in the main the longer nursery favorites and may somewhat loosely be called the novels and epics of the nursery as the former group may be called the lyrics and short stories. All of them are marked by dramatic power, a necessary element in all true classics for children whether in verse or prose. Nos. 119 and 120 are two of the favorite jingles used in teaching the alphabet. Each letter suggests a distinct image. In No. 119 the images are all of actions, and connected by the direction of these actions upon a single object. In No. 120 the images are each complete and independent. Here it may be noticed that some of the elements of the pictures are determined by the exigencies of rhyme, as, for instance, what the archer shot at, and what the lady had. The originator doubtless expected the child to see the relation of cause and consequence between Y and Z

W was a watchman, and guarded the door;

X was expensive, and so became poor.

Y

was a youth, that did not love school;

Ꮓ

was a zany, a poor harmless fool.

121

WHERE ARE YOU GOING 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. What is your fortune, my pretty maid? "My face is my fortune, sir," she said. Then I can't marry you, my pretty maid. "Nobody asked you, sir," she said.

122

MOLLY AND I

Molly, my sister, and I fell out,
And what do you think it was about?
She loved coffee, and I loved tea,
And that was the reason we couldn't

agree.

But Molly, my sister, and I made up,
And now together we can sup,

For Molly drinks coffee, and I drink tea,
And we both are happy as happy can be.

123

LONDON BRIDGE

London bridge is broken down, Dance o'er my lady Lee; London bridge is broken down, With a gay lady.

How shall we build it up again?

Dance o'er my lady Lee; How shall we build it up again?

With a gay lady.

Build it up with silver and gold,

Dance o'er my lady Lee; Build it up with silver and gold, With a gay lady.

Silver and gold will be stole away,

Dance o'er my lady Lee; Silver and gold will be stole away,

With a gay lady.

Build it again with iron and steel,

Dance o'er my lady Lee; Build it up with iron and steel,

With a gay lady.

Iron and steel will bend and bow,

Dance o'er my lady Lee; Iron and steel will bend and bow, With a gay lady.

Build it up with wood and clay,

Dance o'er my lady Lee; Build it up with wood and clay, With a gay lady.

Wood and clay will wash away,

Dance o'er my lady Lee; Wood and clay will wash away, With a gay lady.

Build it up with stone so strong,

Dance o'er my lady Lee; Huzza! 'twill last for ages long, With a gay lady.

124

I SAW A SHIP

I saw a ship a-sailing,
A-sailing on the sea;
And oh, it was all laden
With pretty things for thee!

There were comfits in the cabin,

And apples in the hold; The sails were made of silk,

And the masts were made of gold!

The four and twenty sailors,

That stood between the decks, Were four and twenty white mice, With chains about their necks.

The captain was a duck,

With a packet on his back; And when the ship began to move, The captain said, "Quack! Quack!"

125

THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN

There was an old woman, as I've heard tell,

She went to market her eggs for to sell; She went to market all on a market-day, And she fell asleep on the king's highway.

By came a pedlar whose name was Stout, He cut her petticoats all round about; He cut her petticoats up to her knees, Which made the old woman to shiver and freeze.

When this little woman first did wake, She began to shiver and she began to shake,

She began to wonder, and she began to cry, "Lauk a mercy on me, this is none of I!

"But if it be I, as I do hope it be, I've a little dog at home, and he'll know

me;

If it be I, he'll wag his little tail,

And if it be not I, he'll loudly bark and wail."

Home went the little woman all in the dark,

Up got the little dog, and he began to bark;

He began to bark, so she began to cry, "Lauk a mercy on me, this is none of I!"

126

LITTLE BO-PEEP

Little Bo-peep has 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 dreamt she heard them bleating; But when she awoke, she found it a joke, For they were still 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.

127

COCK A DOODLE DOO

Cock a doodle doo!

My dame has lost her shoe;

My master's lost his fiddling stick, And don't know what to do.

Cock a doodle doo!

What is my dame to do?

Till master finds his fiddling stick, She'll dance without her shoe.

Cock a doodle doo!

My dame has found her shoe,

And master's found his fiddling stick, Sing doodle doodle doo!

Cock a doodle doo!

My dame will dance with you,
While master fiddles his fiddling stick,
For dame and doodle doo.

128

THREE JOVIAL HUNTSMEN
There were three jovial huntsmen,
As I have heard them say,
And they would go a-hunting
All on a summer's day.

All the day they hunted,

And nothing could they find But a ship a-sailing,

A-sailing with the wind.

One said it was a ship,

The other he said nay;
The third said it was a house

With the chimney blown away.

And all the night they hunted,
And nothing could they find,
But the moon a-gliding,
A-gliding with the wind.

One said it was the moon,

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

129

THERE WAS A LITTLE MAN

There was a little man,

And he had a little gun,

And his bullets were made of lead, lead,

lead;

He went to a brook,

And fired at a duck,

And shot it through the head, head, head.