Types of Children's Literature

Excerpt

NURSERY JINGLES

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
  Eating of curds and whey;
Along came a spider
And sat down beside her,
  Which frightened Miss Muffet away.

* * * * *

Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John
Went to bed with his stockings on;
One shoe off, the other shoe on,
Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John.

* * * * *

"Let's go to bed,"
Says Sleepy-head;
  "Let's stay awhile," says Slow;
"Put on the pot,"
Says Greedy-sot,
  "We'll sup before we go."

* * * * *

Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
  His wife could eat no lean:
And so betwixt them both, you see,
  They licked the platter clean.

* * * * *

There was a little girl,
And she had a little curl
  Right in the middle of her forehead;
When she was good,
She was very, very good;
  But when she was bad—she was horrid.

[Footnote: Attributed to Longfellow.]

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
  The clock struck one,
  And down he run,
Hickory, dickory, dock

* * * * *

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe;
She had so many children she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread,
And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

* * * * *

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,
Had a wife and couldn't keep her.
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.

* * * * *

  Little Jack Horner
  Sat in a corner,
Eating a Christmas pie:
  He put in his thumb
  And pulled out a plum
And said, "What a good boy am I!"

* * * * *

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
  To get her poor dog a bone;
But when she got there,
The cupboard was bare,
  And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker's
  To buy him some bread;
And when she came back,
  The poor dog was dead.

She went to the joiner's
  To buy him a coffin;
And when she came back,
  The doggy was laughin'.

She went to the butcher's
  To buy him some tripe;
And when she came back,
  He was smoking his pipe.

She went to the hatter's
  To buy him a hat;
And when she came back,
  He was feeding the cat.

She went to the barber's
  To buy him a wig;
And when she came back,
  He was dancing a jig.

She went to the tailor's
  To buy him a coat;
And when she came back,
  He was riding a goat.

She went to the cobbler's
  To buy him some shoes;
And when she came back,
  He was reading the news.

* * * * *

Little Bo-peep
She lost her sheep,
  And couldn't tell where to find them.
"Let them alone
And they'll come home,
  Wagging 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 still they all were 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.

* * * * *

My dear, do you know
A long time ago
  Two poor little children,
Whose names I don't know,
Were taken away on a bright summer day
And left in the woods, as I've heard people say....