RHYMES AND JINGLES

Merry are the bells, and merry would they ring, Merry was myself, and merry could I sing; With a merry ding-dong, happy, gay, and free, And a merry sing-song, happy let us be! Waddle goes your gait, and hollow are your hose; Noddle goes your pate, and purple is your nose; Merry is your sing-song, happy, gay, and free; With a merry ding-dong, happy let us be! Merry have we met, and merry have we been; Merry let us part, and merry meet again; With our merry sing-song, happy, gay, and free, With a merry ding-dong, happy let us be!

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Bless the bed that I lie on! Four corners to my bed, Five angels there lie spread; Two at my head, Two at my feet, One at my heart, my soul to keep.

Jenny Wren fell sick; Upon a merry time, In came Robin Redbreast, And brought her sops of wine. Eat well of the sop, Jenny, Drink well of the wine; Thank you Robin kindly, You shall be mine. Jenny she got well, And stood upon her feet, And told Robin plainly She loved him not a bit. Robin, being angry, Hopp’d on a twig, Saying, Out upon you, Fye upon you, Bold-faced jig!

Curly locks! Curly locks! Wilt thou be mine? Thou shalt not wash dishes Nor yet feed the swine. But sit on a cushion And sew a fine seam, And feed upon strawberries Sugar and cream.

Pussy-cat Mew jumped over a coal, And in her best petticoat burnt a great hole. Pussy-cat Mew shall have no more milk Till she has mended her gown of silk.

Draw a pail of water For my Lady’s daughter. Father’s a King, Mother’s a Queen, My two little sisters are dressed in green, Stamping marigolds and parsley.

I saw a ship a-sailing, A-sailing on the sea; And it was full of pretty things For baby and for me. There were sweetmeats in the cabin, And apples in the hold; The sails were made of silk, And the masts were made of gold. The four-and-twenty sailors That stood between the decks, Were four-and-twenty white mice, With chains about their necks. The captain was a duck, With a packet on his back; And when the ship began to move, The captain cried, “Quack, quack!”

I had a little nut-tree, Nothing would it bear But a silver nutmeg And a golden pear; The King of Spain’s daughter She came to see me, And all because of my little nut-tree. I skipped over water, I danced over sea, And all the birds in the air couldn’t catch me.

My maid Mary she minds the dairy, While I go a-hoeing and a-mowing each morn; Gaily run the reel and the little spinning-wheel, Whilst I am singing and mowing my corn.

When the wind is in the East, ’Tis neither good for man or beast; When the wind is in the North, The skilful fisher goes not forth; When the wind is in the South, It blows the bait in the fish’s mouth; When the wind is in the West, Then ’tis at the very best.

Blow, wind, blow! and go, mill, go! That the miller may grind his corn; That the baker may take it and into rolls make it, And send us some hot in the morn.

The cock’s on the house-top, Blowing his horn; The bull’s in the barn, A-threshing of corn; The maids in the meadows Are making the hay, The ducks in the river Are swimming away.

Cold and raw The north wind doth blow Bleak in the morning early; All the hills are covered with snow, And winter’s now come fairly.

The north wind doth blow, And we shall have snow, And what will poor Robin do then, poor thing? He’ll sit in the barn, And keep himself warm, And hide his head under his wing, poor thing!

I have a little sister, they call her Peep, Peep, She wades the waters, deep, deep, deep; She climbs the mountains, high, high, high; Poor little creature, she has but one eye. (A star.)

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 thieves break in and steal the gold. (An egg.)