A-hunting we will go
A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go,
We’ll catch a fox
And put him in a box
And then we’ll let him go.
A hopeless case
“What is the use” quoth the Whitewash Brush
“I’ll comb my hair no more;
For try as I will to make it lie,
It still stays pompadour”
A good play
We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of sofa pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.
We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, “Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;”
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.
We sailed along for days and days,
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.
A good boy
I woke before the morning,
I was happy all the day,
I never said an ugly word,
but smiled and stuck to play.
And now at last the sun
is going down behind the wood,
And I am very happy,
for I know that I’ve been good.
My bed is waiting cool and fresh,
with linen smooth and fair,
And I must be off to sleepsin-by,
and not forget my prayer.
I know that, till to-morrow
I shall see the sun arise,
No ugly dream shall fright my mind,
no ugly sight my eyes.
But slumber hold me tightly
till I waken in the dawn,
And hear the thrushes
singing in the lilacs round the lawn.
A frog he would a-wooing go
A frog he would a-wooing go,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
A frog he would a-wooing go,
Whether his mother would let him or no.
With a rowley, powley, gammon and spinich,
Hey ho, says Anthony Rowley.
So of he set with his opera hat,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
So of he set with his opera hat,
And on the road he met with a rat
With a rowley, etc.
Pray Mr Rat, will you go with me?
Hey ho, says Rowley,
Pray, Mr Rat, will you go with me,
With a rowley, etc.
They came to the door of Mouseyâ??s hall,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
They gave a loud knock, and they gave a loud call.
With a rowley, etc.
Pray Mrs Mouse, are you within?
Hey ho, says Rowley,
Oh yes, kind sirs, Iâ??m sitting to spin.
With a rowley, etc.
Pray, Mrs Mouse, will you give us some beer?
Hey ho, says Rowley,
For Froggy and I are fond of good cheer.
With a rowley, etc.
Pray, Mr Frog, will you give us a song?
Hey ho, says Rowley,
Let it be something thatâ??s not very long.
With a rowley, etc.
Indeed, Mrs Mouse, replied Mr Frog,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
A cold has made me as hoarse as a dog.
With a rowley, etc.
Since you have a cold, Mr Frog, Mousey said,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
Iâ??ll sing you a song that I have just made.
With a rowley, etc.
But while they were all a-merry-making
Hey ho, says Rowley,
A cat and her kittens came tumbling in.
With a rowley, etc.
The cat she seized the rat by the crown,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
The kittens they pulled the little mouse down.
With a rowley, etc.
This put Mr Frog in a terrible fright,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
He took up his hat and wished them goodnight.
With a rowley, etc.
But as Froggy was crossing over a brook,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
A lily-white duck came and gobbled him up.
With a rowley, etc.
So there was the end of one, two, three,
Hey ho, says Rowley,
The rat, the mouse, and the little frog-ee.
With a rowley, etc.
A flying visit
“Iâ??m just looked in to tell you all babies,
Thereâ??s five of them all in one nest in
yonder hawthorn tree.
Iâ??m teaching them to sing, you know
as yet one cannot sing.
But Specklebreast, Iâ??m told will have a
lovely voice one day.
I think I hear them calling me and so I must not stay,
I know you will not mind if I a flying visit pay.
Of course five baby birdies all oneâ??s spare time occupy,
Iâ??ll call again one day and tell you something more
–Good-bye.”
A flea and a fly
A flea and a fly
Flew up in a flue.
Said the flea, “Let us fly!”
Said the fly, “Let us flee!”
So they flew through a flap in the flue.
A farmer went trotting upon his grey mare
A farmer went trotting upon his grey mare,
Bumpety, Bumpety, bump !
With his daughter behind so rosy and fair,
A raven cried, Croak ! and they went tumbling down,
Bumpety, bumpety, bump !
The mare broke her knees and the farmer his crown,
Lumpety, lumpety, lump !
The mischievous raven flew laughing away,
Bumpety, bumpety, bump !
And vowed he would serve them the same the next day,
Lumpety, lumpety, lump !
A duck and a drake
A duck and a drake,
And a nice barley cake,
With a penny to pay the old baker;
A hop and a scotch
Is another notch,
Slitherum, slitherum, take her!
A dimple on your cheek
A dimple on your cheek,
You are gentle and meek.
A dimple on your chin,
Youâ??ve a devil within.
A diller, a dollar
A diller, a dollar,
A ten oâ??clock scholar,
What makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten oâ??clock,
But now you come at noon.
A big shoe
Said little Sue
To little Pete,
“I can’t see you,
For your big feet.”
Said little Pete
To little Sue
“‘Tis not my feet,
‘Tis but my shoe.”
A difficuilt rhyme
What is the rhyme for porringer?
The king he had a daughter fair
And gave the Prince of Orange her
A cock and a bull story
The cock’s on the housetop blowing his horn;
The bull’s in the barn a-threshing of corn;
The maids in the meadows are making of hay;
The ducks in the river are swimming away.
A cherry
As I went through the garden gap,
Who should I meet but Dick Redcap!
A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat,
If youâ??ll tell me this riddle, Iâ??ll give you a groat.
A cat came fiddling out of a barn
A cat came fiddling out of a barn,
With a pair of bagpipes under her arm.
She could sing nothing but “fiddle dee dee”,
The mouse has married the bumblebee.
Pipe, cat, dance, mouse,
We’ll have a wedding at our good house.
A candle
Little Nanny Etticoat
In a white petticoat,
And a red nose;
The longer she stands
The shorter she grows.
A Boy’s Thanksgiving Day
Over the river, and through the wood,
to Grandfather’s house we go;
the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood,
to Grandfather’s house away!
We would not stop for doll or top,
for ’tis Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river and through the wood,
when Grandmother sees us come,
She will say, “o, dear, the children are here,
bring a pie for every one.”
Over the river and through the wood,
now Grandmother’s cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
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