LXVII.

THE carrion crow, he sat upon an oak,

And he called the tailor a cheating folk;

66

Sing heigho, the carrion crow,

Fol de rol, de rol, de rol, de rhino."

Wife, fetch me my good strong bow,

That I may kill the carrion crow. "Sing heigho," &c.

The tailor shot, and missed his mark,

And shot the old sow through the heart

[Another version of one given p. 23.]

THERE was an old woman sat spinning,

And that's the first beginning;

She had a calf,

And that's half;

She took it by the tail,

And threw it over the wall,

And that's all!

LXIX.

SOME little mice sat in a barn to spin;

Pussy came by, and she popped her head in: "Shall I come in, and cut your threads off?" "Oh! no, kind sir, you will snap our heads off!"

LXX.

THREE blind mice, the three blind mice,

They all ran after the farmer's wife,

Who cut off their tails with the carving-knife.

LXXI.

ST. DUNSTAN, as the story goes,

Once pulled the devil by the nose,

With red-hot tongs, which made him roar,

That he was heard ten miles or more.

LXXII.

As I was walking o'er little Moorfields,
I saw St. Paul's a running on wheels,

With a fee, fo, fum.

Then for further frolics I'll go to France,

While Jack shall sing and his wife shall dance, With a fee, fo, fum.

LXXIII.

TOMMY TROT, a man of law,
Sold his bed and lay upon straw:
Sold the straw and slept on grass,
To buy his wife a looking-glass.

LXXIV.

THERE was a lady lov'd a swine,

Honey, quoth she,

Pig, Hog, wilt thou be mine?

Hoogh, quoth he.

I'll build thee a silver sty,

Honey, quoth she;

And in it thou shalt lie,

Hoogh, quoth he.

Pinn'd with a silver pin,

Honey, quoth she ;

That you may go out and in,
Hoogh, quoth he.

Wilt thou have me now,

Honey? quoth she;

Hoogh, hoogh, hoogh, quoth he,

And went his way.

LXXV.

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 this little 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 is none of I!

"But if it be I, as I do 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 can't be I!"

LXXVI.

LITTLE Mary Ester sat upon a tester,

Eating curds and whey;

There came a spider, and sat down beside her, And frightened little Mary Ester away!

LXXVII.

[This nursery rhyme is quoted in Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca, Act. v. sc. 2.]

SING a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four-and-twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie;

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;

Was not that a dainty dish
To set before the king?

The king was in the parlour
Counting out his money;
The queen was in her closet
Eating bread and honey;

The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes,
Up comes a little blackbird,

And snaps off her nose.