INTRODUCTION The parents of the learned child(His father and his mother)Were utterly aghast to noteThe facts he would at random quoteOn creatures curious, rare and wild;And wondering, asked each other:   "An idle little child like this,How is it that he knowsWhat years of close analysisAre powerless to disclose?Our brains are trained, our books are big,And yet we always fail   To answer why the Guinea-pigIs born without a tail. Or... more...

JIM was a boy who was fond of clowns,And thought they were excellent fun;He talked so much of them and their ways,That one night he dreamed he was one. He dreamed he was feeding five fat geeseOn boiled slate-pencils and rice:He said it was wholesome food for geese,But they said, “More wholesome than nice.”   HE dreamed that he set two geese to dance,While he took a fiddle and played.He said, “You look... more...

SUSAN BLUE. Oh, Susan Blue, How do you do? Please may I go for a walk with you? Where shall we go? Oh, I know— Down in the meadow where the cowslips grow! [5] BLUE SHOES. Little Blue Shoes Mustn't go Very far alone, you know Else she'll fall down, Or, lose her way; Fancy—what Would mamma say? Better put her little hand Under sister's wise command. When she's a little... more...

ANNIE'S GARDEN.   In little Annie's garden    Grew all sorts of posies;  There were pinks, and mignonette,    And tulips, and roses.   Sweet peas, and morning glories,    A bed of violets blue,  And marigolds, and asters,    In Annie's garden grew.   There the bees went for honey,    And the... more...

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 a-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... more...

HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE   Hey, diddle, diddle,     The Cat   and the Fiddle,     The Cow jumped over the Moon,   The little Dog laughed   to see such fun.     And the Dish ran away with the Spoon.   BABY BUNTING.     Bye, Baby Bunting!     Father's   gone   a-hunting,     Gone to... more...

PRICE SIXPENCE.   Oh! on this green and mossy seat, In my hours of sweet retreat; Thus I would my soul employ, With sense of gratitude and joy.   ! farewell! the trumpet calls,The banner waves in view;And I must bid these friendly halls,One long! one last adieu!   The dappled herd of grazing deer,That seek the shades by day;Now started from their path with fear,To give the stranger way.... more...

Three Blind Mice *** Three Small Mice Three Small Mice Three Small Mice Pined for some fun Pined for some fun Pined for some fun They made up their minds to set out to roam ; Said they, “’Tis dull to remain at home,” And all the luggage they took was a comb, These three Small Mice     Three Bold Mice Three Bold Mice Came to an Inn Came to an Inn Came to an Inn “Good... more...

RHYMES OF THE NURSERY. Writing on the subject of nursery rhymes more than half a century ago, the late Dr. Robert Chambers expressed regret because, as he said, "Nothing had of late been revolutionised so much as the nursery." But harking back on the period of his own childhood, he was able to say, with a feeling of satisfaction, that the young mind was then "cradled amidst the simplicities of the uninstructed intellect; and she was held to be... more...

PAR AVIUM. Two little birds were sitting on a stone, One flew away and then there was one, T’ other flew away and then there was none, So the poor stone was left all alone. One of the little birds back again flew, In came t’ other and then there were two; Says one bird to t’ other, “How do you do?” “Very well, I thank you; pray how do you?” Fama est par avium venisse insistere saxo,... more...