Chapter I: SAW a ship a-sailing,

A-sailing on the sea;
And, oh! it was all laden
With pretty things for thee!

There were comfits 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 said, "Quack! quack!"

TOM, TOM, THE PIPER'S SON.

Tom, Tom, was a pi per's son,
He learn'd to play when he was young;
But the only tune that he could play,
Was "Over the hills and far away."

Tom with his pipe made such a noise,
That he pleased both the girls and boys;
They'd dance and skip while he did play,
"Over the hills and far away."]

Tom with his pipe did play with such skill,
That those who heard him could never keep still;
As soon as he play'd they began for to dance,
Even pigs on their hind-legs would after him prance.

He met Old Dame Trot with a basket of Eggs--
He used his pipe and she used her legs;
She danc'd about till her eggs were all broke,
She began for to fret, but he laugh'd at the joke.

And as Dolly was milking her cow one day,]

Tom took out his pipe and began for to play;
So Doll and the cow they danc'd a lilt,
Till the pail fell down and the milk was all spilt.

Tom saw a cross fellow was beating an ass,
Heavy laden with pots, pans, dishes, and glass;
He took out his pipe and he play'd them a tune,
And the poor donkey's load was lighten'd full soon.]

THERE was an old woman, as I've heard tell,
She went to market her eggs for to sell;
She went to market all on a market day,
And she fell asleep on the King's highway.

There came by a pedlar, whose name was Stout,
He cut her petticoats all round about;
He cut her petticoats up to the knees,
Which made the old woman to shiver and freeze.

When the little old woman first did wake,
She began to shiver and she began to shake;
She began to wonder, and she began to cry,
"Lauk a mercy on me, this can't be I!

But if it be I, as I hope it be,
I've a little dog at home, and he'll know me;
If it be I, he'll wag his little tail,
And if it be not I, he'll loudly bark and wail."

Home went the little woman all in the dark,
Up got the little dog, and he began to bark;
He began to bark, so she began to cry,
"Lauk a mercy on me, this is none of I!"

_High_ diddle ding,
Did you hear the bells ring?
The Parliament soldiers are gone to the King!
Some they did laugh, some they did cry,
To see the Parliament soldiers pass by.

Three wise men of Gotham
Went to sea in a bowl;
If the bowl had been stronger
My story had been longer.

Little Boy Blue, come, blow me your horn;
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
Where's the little boy that looks after the sheep?
He's under the haycock, fast asleep.

THE ROBIN REDBREASTS.

Two Robin Redbreasts built their nests
Within a hollow tree;
The hen sat quietly at home,
The cock sang merrily;
And all the little young ones said,
"Wee, wee, wee, wee, wee, wee."

One day (the sun was warm and bright,
And shining in the sky),
Cock Robin said, "My little dears,
'T is time you learn to fly;"
And all the little young ones said,
"I'll try, I'll try, I'll try."

I know a child, and _who she is_
I'll tell you by-and-by,
When Mamma says, "Do this," or "that,"
She says, "What for?" and "Why?"
She'd be a better child by far
If she would say "I'll try."

THERE was an old woman
Lived under a hill,
And if she's not gone,
She lives there still.

We are all in the dumps,
For diamonds are trumps,
The kittens are gone to St. Paul's,
The babies are bit,
The moon's in a fit,
And the houses are built without walls.

AS I was going along, long, long,
A-singing a comical song, song, song,
The lane that I went was so long, long, long,
And the song that I sung was so long, long, long,
And so I went singing along.

A-milking, a-milking, my maid,
"Cow, take care of your heels," she said;
"And you shall have some nice new hay,
If you'll quietly let me milk away."

Old father Grey Beard,
Without tooth or tongue,
If you'll give me your finger,
I'll give you my thumb.

Dance a baby diddit,
What can his mother do with it,
But sit in a lap,
And give him some pap?
Dance a baby diddit.

Snail, snail, come out of your hole,
Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal.

At the siege of Belleisle I was there all the while,
All the while, all the while, at the siege of Belleisle.

Bye, baby bunting,
Father's gone a-hunting,
Mother's gone a-milking,
Sister's gone a-silking,
Brother's gone to buy a skin
To wrap the baby bunting in.

Young lambs to sell, young lambs to sell;
If I had as much money as I could tell
I never would cry young lambs to sell,
Young lambs to sell, young lambs to sell,
I never would cry, young lambs to sell.

Come, let's to bed, says Sleepy-head;
Tarry a while, says Slow;
Put on the pan, says Greedy Nan,
Let's sup before we go.

To make your candles last for aye,
You wives and maids give ear-o!
To put them out's the only way,
Says honest John Boldero.

THE GREAT BROWN OWL

THE Brown Owl sits in the ivy-bush,
And she looketh wondrous wise,
With a horny beak beneath her cowl,
And a pair of large round eyes.

She sat all day on the selfsame spray,
From sunrise till sunset;
And the dim grey light, it was all too bright
For the Owl to see in yet.

"Jenny Owlet, Jenny Owlet," said a merry little bird,
"They say you're wondrous wise;
But I don't think you see, though you're looking at ME
With your large, round, shining eyes."

But night came soon, and the pale white moon
Rolled high up in the skies;
And the great Brown Owl flew away in her cowl,
With her large, round, shining eyes.

LITTLE TOM TUCKER.

Little Tom Tucker
Sings for his supper:
What shall he eat?
White bread and butter.
How shall he cut it
Without e'er a knife?
How can he marry
Without e'er a wife?]

Four and twenty tailors went to kill a snail,
The best man amongst them durst not touch her tail.
She put out her horns, like a little Kyloe cow,
Run, tailors, run, or she'll kill you all just now.

Doctor Foster went to Glo'ster,
In a shower of rain;
He stepped in a puddle, up to the middle,
And never went there again.

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

The man in the moon
Came tumbling down,
And asked the way to Norwich;
He went by the south,
And burnt his mouth
With eating cold pease porridge.

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a rail,
Niddle, naddle, went his head, wiggle, waddle, went his tail;
Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a bridle,
With a pair of speckle legs, and a green girdle.

Pit, pat, well-a-day!
Little Robin flew away;
Where can little Robin be,
But up in yon cherry-tree?

Ding, dong, darrow,
The cat and the sparrow;
The little dog has burnt his tail,
And he shall be whipped to-morrow.

DAME DUCK'S LESSONS TO HER DUCKLINGS.

OLD MOTHER DUCK has hatched a brood
Of ducklings, small and callow:
Their little wings are short, their down
Is mottled grey and yellow.

There is a quiet little stream,
That runs into the moat,
Where tall green sedges spread their leaves,
And water-lilies float.

Close by the margin of the brook
The old Duck made her nest,
Of straw, and leaves, and withered grass,
And down from her own breast.

And there she sat for four long weeks,
In rainy days and fine,
Until the Ducklings all came out--
Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

One peeped out from beneath her wing,
One scrambled on her back:
"That's very rude," said old Dame Duck,
"Get off! quack, quack, quack, quack!"

"'T is close," said Dame Duck, shoving out
The egg-shells with her bill,
"Besides, it never suits young ducks
To keep them sitting still."

So, rising from her nest, she said,
"Now, children, look at me:
A well-bred duck should waddle so,
From side to side--d'ye see?"

"Yes," said the little ones, and then
She went on to explain:
"A well-bred duck turns in its toes
As I do--try again."

"Yes," said the Ducklings, waddling on.
"That's better," said their mother;
"But well-bred ducks walk in a row,
Straight--one behind another."

"Yes," said the little Ducks again,
All waddling in a row:
"Now to the pond," said old Dame Duck--
Splash, splash! and in they go.

"Let me swim first," said old Dame Duck,
"To this side, now to that;
There, snap at those great brown-winged flies,
They make young ducklings fat.

"Now when you reach the poultry-yard,
The hen-wife, Molly Head,
Will feed you, with the other fowls,
On bran and mashed-up bread;

"The hens will peck and fight, but mind,
I hope that all of you
Will gobble up the food as fast
As well-bred ducks should do.

"You'd better get into the dish,
Unless it is too small;
In that case, I should use my foot,
And overturn it all."

The Ducklings did as they were bid,
And found the plan so good,
That, from that day, the other fowls
Got hardly any food.

Is John Smith within?
Yes, that he is.
Can he set a shoe?
Ay, marry, two.
Here a nail, there a nail,
Tick, tack, too.

John Cook he had a little grey mare,
hee, haw, hum;
Her legs were long and her back was bare,
hee, haw, hum.

John Cook was riding up Shooter's Bank,
hee, haw, hum;
The mare she began to kick and to prank,
hee, haw, hum.

John Cook was riding up Shooter's Hill,
hee, haw, hum;
His mare fell down and made her will,
hee, haw, hum.

The bridle and saddle were laid on the shelf,
hee, haw, hum;
If you want any more, you may sing it yourself,
hee, haw, hum.

Old King Cole
Was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
And he called for his pipe
And he called for his glass,
And he called for his fiddlers three!

A Apple Pie.

B bit it.

C cut it.

D dealt it.

E eat it.

F fought for it.

G got it.

H hid it.

J jumped for it.

K kept it.

L longed for it.

M mourned for it.

N nodded at it.

O opened it.

P peeped at it.

Q quartered it.

R ran for it.

S stole it.

T tried for it.

V viewed it.