Illustrated by: Constance Haslewood

Part 4
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Part 4

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree,
up went Pussy-cat and down went he;
down came Pussy-cat and away Robin ran,
says little Robin Redbreast: "Catch me if you can".
Little Robin Redbreast flew upon a wall,
Pussy-cat jumped after him and almost got a fall,
little Robin chirp'd and sang and what did Pussy say?
Pussy-cat said "Mew" and Robin flew away.

A little cock-sparrow sat on a tree,
looking as happy as happy could be,
till a boy came by, with his bow and arrow,
says he: "I will shoot the little cock-sparrow.
His body will make me a nice little stew
and his giblets will make me a little pie, too".
Says the little cock-sparrow: "I'll be shoot if I stay!".
So he clapped his wings and he flew away.

Cuckoo, cherry tree,
catch a bird and give it to me.
let the tree be high or low,
let it hail, rain or snow.

There was a little man and he had a little gun,
and his bullet were made of lead, lead, lead;
he shot Johnny Spring through the middle of his wig,
and knocked it right off his head, head, head.

Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man,
bake me a cake as fast as you can;
pat it and prick it and mark it with T
and put in the oven for Tommy and me.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief;
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef;
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was not at home;
Taffy came to my house and stole a marrow bone.

In the marry month of May
when green leaves begin to spring,
little lambs do skip like fairies
birds do couple, build and sing.

In marble walls as white as milk,
lined with a skin as soft as silk,
within a fountain crystal clear,
a golden apple doth appear,
no doors there are to this stronghold,
yet thingsbreak in and steal the gold.
The egg

Little cock Robin peeped out of his nest
to see the cold winter come in,
tit for tat, what matter for that
he'll hide head under his wing!

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
February has twenty-eight alone;
all the rest have thirty-one.
Excepting leap-year - that's the time
when February's day are twenty-nine.

The man in the wilderness asked me
how many strawberries grew in the sea.
I answered him, as I thought good,
as many as red herrings grew in the wood.

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 could not agree.

My maid Mary, she minds her dairy
while I go hoeing and mowing each morn;
Merrily run the reel and the little spinning wheel,
whilst I am singing and mowing my corn.

A little boy went into a barn,
and lay down on some hay,
an owl came out and flew about
and the little boy ran away.

Mary, Mary quite contrary
how does your garden grow?
Silver bells and cockle shells
and pretty maids all in a row.

Little girl, little girl where have you been?
Gathering roses to give to the Queen.
Little girl, little girl what gave she you?
She gave me a diamond as big as my shoe.

Diddledy, Diddledy, Dumpty:
the cat ran up the plum tree.
I'll wager a crown
I'll fetch you down;
sing Diddledy, Diddledy, Dumpty.

Little Betty Blue, lost her holiday shoe:
what can little Betty do?
Give her another to match the other
and then she may walk in two.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

I'll sing you a song,
though not very long
Yet I think it
as pretty as any.
Put your hand
in your purse.
You'll never be worse
and give the poor singer a penny.

Rain, rain go away,
come again some April day,
little Johnny wants to play.

Here am I, little jumping Joan;
when nobody's with me,
I am always alone.

Solomon Grundy, born on Monday,
christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday.
Took ill on Thursday, worse on Friday,
died on Saturday, buried on Sunday:
thi is the end of Solomon Grundy.

Tha man in the moon came tumbling down
and asked his way to Norwich;
he went by the south and burnt his mounth
with supping cold pease-porridge.

The North Wind doth blow
and we shall have snow
and what will poor Robin do then?
He will hop to a barn,
and to keep himself warm
will hide his head under his wing,
poor thing.

Black we are, but much admired;
men seek for us till they are tired.
We tire the horse, but comfort man:
tell me this riddle if you can?
Coals

I had a little hen, the prettiest ever seen,
she washed me the dishes and kept the house clean:
she went to the mill to fetch me some flour;
she brought it home in less than an hour;
she baked me my bread, she brew'd me my ale,
she sat by the fire and told many a fine tale.

Bat, bat (clap hands) come under my hat
and I'll give you a slice of bacon;
and when I bake, I'll give you a cake
if I am not mistaken.

There was an old woman of Leeds,
who spent all her time in good deeds;
she worked for the poor
till her finger were sore,
this pious old woman of Leeds!

Little Tommy Tittlemouse lived in a little house;
he caught fishes in other men's dishes.

As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives;
every wife had seven sacks;
every sack had seven cats;
every cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
how many were there going to St. Ives?

There was a little man
and he woo'd a little maid
and he said: "Little maid will you wed, wed, wed.
I have little more to say,
than will you, yea or nay,
for the least said soonest men-ded, ded, ded".
The little maid replied,
(Some say a little sighed):
"But what shall we have for to eat, eat, eat,
will the love that are so rich in.
Make a fire in the kitchen,
or the little God of Love turn the spit, spit, spit".