Chapter I: Had a Little Husband

"I had a little husband
No bigger than my thumb,
I put him in a pint pot,
And there I bid him drum
I bought a little handkerchief
To wipe his little nose,
And a pair of little garters
To tie his little hose."

I bought a little carriage
And took him out to ride,
And yet with all my efforts
He wasn't satisfied.
I never would have married,
Now this I do declare,--
If I'd supposed a husband
Was such an awful care.

There was a man in our town

"There was a man in our town,
And he was wondrous wise
He jumped into a bramble bush
And scratched out both his eyes.
And when he saw his eyes were out,
With all his might and main
He jumped into another bush
And scratched them in again."

This clever man then hastened on
And bought a pair of shears,
But when he tried to cut with them,
He snipped off both his ears.
And when he heard his ears were off,
('T was told him o'er and o'er),
He seized the shears and snipped them back
As they had been before.

"Because," said he, "wise men like me,
Who travel round about,
And keep their eyes, and use them well,
May find some people out.
And if they also use their ears,
And hark what hearsay brings,
They're likewise pretty sure to hear
Some very funny things."

SEE SAW, SACARADOWN

"See saw, sacaradown,
Which is the way to Boston town?
One foot up, the other foot down.
That is the way to Boston town."

See saw, steady and slow!
Other places there are, I know,
But they are not worth the trouble to go,
For Boston people have told me so.

Sing a Song o' sixpence

"Sing a song o' sixpence
Pocket full of rye;
Four-and-twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing
Was not this a dainty dish
To set before the King?

The King was in his counting-house
Counting out his money;
The Queen was in the parlor,
Eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes
When along came a blackbird
And nipped off her nose."

Sing a song o' sixpence
A pocket full of rye;
I know another blackbird
Baked in a pie.
The maid it was who baked it
With all her might and main,
Resolved there'd be one blackbird
That shouldn't nip again.