Blanche Fisher Wright - The real Mother Goose

THE REAL MOTHER GOOSE Illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright 1916

THE REAL MOTHER GOOSE Little Bo-Peep haslost her sheep, And can't tell whereto find them; Leave them alone, andthey'll come home, And bring their tailsbehind them. Little Bo-Peep fellfast asleep, And dreamt she heardthem bleating; But when she awoke,she found it a joke, For still they allwere fleeting. Then up she took herlittle crook, Determined for tofind them; She found themindeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they'd left alltheir tails behind 'em! It happened one day,as Bo-peep did stray Unto a meadow hardby-- There she espiedtheir tails, side by side, All hung on a tree todry. She heaved a sigh andwiped her eye, And over the hillocksshe raced; And tried what shecould, as a shepherdess should, That each tail shouldbe properly placed. Little Boy Blue,come, blow your horn! The sheep's in themeadow, the cow's in the corn. There's a neat littleclock,-- In the schoolroom itstands,-- And it points to thetime With its two littlehands. There's a neat littleclock,-- In the schoolroom itstands,-- And it points to thetime With its two littlehands.

And may we, like the clock, Keep a face clean andbright, With hands ever ready To do what is right.

Cold and raw thenorth wind doth blow, Bleak in the morningearly; All the hills arecovered with snow, And winter's now comefairly. Every lady in thisland Has twenty nails,upon each hand Five, and twenty onhands and feet: All this is true,without deceit. Piping hot, smokinghot. What I've got You have not. Dame Trot and her cat Led a peaceable life, When they were nottroubled With other folks'strife. Dame Trot and her cat Led a peaceable life, When they were nottroubled With other folks'strife.

When Dame had herdinner Pussy would wait, And was sure toreceive A nice piece from herplate.

Three children slidingon the ice Upon a summer's day, As it fell out, theyall fell in, The rest they ranaway. Oh, had thesechildren been at school, Or sliding on dryground, Ten thousand poundsto one penny They had not thenbeen drowned. Ye parents who havechildren dear, And ye, too, who havenone, If you would keepthem safe abroad Pray keep them safeat home. Cross patch, draw thelatch, Sit by the fire andspin; Take a cup and drinkit up, Then call yourneighbors in. Tweedle-dum andTweedle-dee Resolved to have abattle, For Tweedle-dum saidTweedle-dee Had spoiled his nicenew rattle. Tweedle-dum andTweedle-dee Resolved to have abattle, For Tweedle-dum saidTweedle-dee Had spoiled his nicenew rattle.

Just then flew by amonstrous crow, As big as a tarbarrel, Which frightened boththe heroes so, They quite forgottheir quarrel.

Dear, dear! what canthe matter be? Two old women got upin an apple-tree; One came down, andthe other stayed till Saturday. Old Mother Goose,when She wanted to wander, Would ride throughthe air On a very finegander. Here am I, littlejumping Joan, When nobody's with me I'm always alone. Pat-a-cake,pat-a-cake, Baker's man! So I do, master, As fast as I can. "Lend me thymare to ride a mile." "She is lamed,leaping over a stile." "Alack! and Imust keep the fair! I'll give thee moneyfor thy mare." "Oh, oh! say youso? Money will make themare to go!" Little RobinRedbreast sat upon a tree, Up went Pussy-Cat,down went he, Down came Pussy-Cat,away Robin ran, Says little RobinRedbreast: "Catch me if you can!" Little RobinRedbreast jumped upon a spade, Pussy-Cat jumpedafter him, and then he was afraid. "Lend me thymare to ride a mile." "She is lamed,leaping over a stile." "Alack! and Imust keep the fair! I'll give thee moneyfor thy mare." "Oh, oh! say youso? Money will make themare to go!" Little RobinRedbreast sat upon a tree, Up went Pussy-Cat,down went he, Down came Pussy-Cat,away Robin ran, Says little RobinRedbreast: "Catch me if you can!" Little RobinRedbreast jumped upon a spade, Pussy-Cat jumpedafter him, and then he was afraid.

Little Robin chirpedand sang, and what did Pussy say? Pussy-Cat said:"Mew, mew, mew," and Robin flew away.

Trip upon trenchers, And dance upondishes, My mother sent me forsome barm, some barm; She bid me golightly, And come againquickly, For fear the youngmen should do me some harm. Yet didn't you see,yet didn't you see, What naughty tricksthey put upon me? They broke my pitcher And spilt the water, And huffed my mother, And chid herdaughter, And kissed my sisterinstead of me. Jack be nimble, Jackbe quick, Jack jump over thecandlestick. As I was going to St.Ives I met a man withseven wives.

Every wife had sevensacks, Every sack had sevencats, Every cat had sevenkits. Kits, cats, sacks,and wives, How many were goingto St. Ives?

Thirty days hathSeptember, April, June, andNovember; February hastwenty-eight alone, All the rest havethirty-one, Excepting leap-year,that's the time When February's daysare twenty-nine. Hush, baby, my dolly,I pray you don't cry, And I'll give yousome bread, and some milk by-and-by; Or perhaps you likecustard, or, maybe, a tart, Then to either you'rewelcome, with all my heart. A swarm of bees inMay Is worth a load ofhay; A swarm of bees inJune Is worth a silverspoon; A swarm of bees inJuly Is not worth a fly. Girls and boys, comeout to play, The moon doth shineas bright as day; Leave your supper,and leave your sleep, And come with yourplayfellows into the street.

Come with a whoop,come with a call, Come with a good willor not at all. Up the ladder anddown the wall, A half-penny rollwill serve us all. You find milk, andI'll find flour, And we'll have apudding in half an hour.

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