R. Caldecott's Picture Book (No. 2) The Three Jovial Huntsmen-Sing a Song for Sixpence-The Queen of Hearts-The Farmer's Boy

Excerpt

The
THREE JOVIAL HUNTSMEN.

IT'S of three jovial huntsmen, an' a hunting they did go;
An' they hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' they blew their horns also
Look ye there!

An' one said, "Mind yo'r e'en, an' keep yo'r noses reet i' th' wind
An' then, by scent or seet, we'll leet o' summat to our mind."
Look ye there!

They hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' the first thing they did find
Was a tatter't boggart, in a field, an' that they left behind.
Look ye there!

One said it was a boggart, an' another he said "Nay;
It's just a ge'man-farmer, that has gone an' lost his way."
Look ye there!

They hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' the next thing they did find
Was a gruntin', grindin' grindlestone, an' that they left behind.
Look ye there!

One said it was a grindlestone, another he said "Nay;
It's nought but an' owd fossil cheese, that somebody's roll't away."
Look ye there!

They hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' the next thing they did find
Was a bull-calf in a pin-fold, an' that, too, they left behind.
Look ye there!

One said it was a bull-calf, an' another he said "Nay;
It's just a painted jackass, that has never larnt to bray."
Look ye there!

They hunted, an they hollo'd, an' the next thing they did find
Was a two-three children leaving school, an' these they left behind.
Look ye there!

One said that they were children, but another he said "Nay;
They're no' but little angels, so we'll leave 'em to their play."
Look ye there!

They hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' the next thing they did find
Was a fat pig smiling in a ditch, an' that, too, they left behind.
Look ye there!

One said it was a fat pig, but another he said "Nay;
It's just a Lunnon Alderman, whose clothes are stole away."
Look ye there!

They hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' the next thing they did find
Was two young lovers in a lane, an' these they left behind.
Look ye there!

One said that they were lovers, but another he said "Nay;
They're two poor wanderin' lunatics—come, let us go away."
Look ye there!

So they hunted, and they hollo'd, till the setting of the sun;
An' they'd nought to bring away at last, when th' huntin'-day was done.
Look ye there!

Then one unto the other said, "This huntin' doesn't pay;
But we'n powler't up an' down a bit, an' had a rattlin' day."
Look ye there!

SING a Song for Sixpence,

A Pocketful

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 Counting-house,

Counting out his Money.

The Queen was in

the Parlour,

Eating Bread and Honey.

The Maid was in

the Garden,

Hanging out the Clothes;

There came a little Blackbird,

And snapped off her Nose

But there came a Jenny Wren
and popped it on again.

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 took them right away.

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