CCXCVI ROCK-A-BYE, baby, the cradle is green; And Betty's a lady, and wears a gold ring; CCXCVII. SHAKE a leg, wag a leg, when will you gang? At midsummer, mother, when the days are lang. CCXCVIII. How many miles is it to Babylon? Threescore miles and ten. Can I get there by candle-light? If your heels are nimble and light, CCXCIX. [The following stanza is of very considerable antiquity, and is common in Yorkshire. See Hunter's Hallamshire Glossary, p. 56.] LADY-COW, lady-cow, fly thy way home, CCC. SING jigmijole, the pudding-bowl, The table and the frame; For kissing of my dame. NOTES. P. 1, l. 1. When Good King Arthur. There is a similar song on king Stephen, which is introduced in an old play; but this is the genuine one recorded in the nursery. P. 2, 1. 16. The house that Jack built. The Hebrew tale which I have given, may possibly be the original of all accumulative stories of the same kind. The tale of the old woman and the crooked sixpence is one of this class, and I here insert two versions of it: "An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a little crooked sixpence. What, said she, shall I do with this little sixpence? I will go to market, and buy a little pig. As she was coming home, she came to a style: but piggy would not go over the stile. "She went a little further, and she met a dog. So she said to the dog, Dog! bite pig; piggy won't go over the stile; and I shan't get home to night. But the dog would not. "She went a little further, and she met a stick. So she said, Stick! stick! beat dog; dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile; and I shan't get home to night. But the stick would not. "She went a little further, and she met a fire. So she said, Fire! fire! burn stick; stick won't beat dog; dog won't bite pig ; (and so forth, always repeating the foregoing words.) But the fire would not. "She went a little further; and she met some water. So she said, Water! water! quench fire: fire won't burn stick. But the water would not. "She went a little further, and she met an ox. So she said, Ox! ox! drink water, water won't quench fire, &c. But the ox would not. "She went a little further, and she met a butcher. So she said, Butcher! butcher! kill ox; ox won't drink water, &c. But the butcher would not. 66 "She went a little further, and she met a rope. So she said, Rope! rope! hang butcher! butcher won't kill ox, &c. But the rope would not. "She went a little further, and she met a rat. So she said, Rat! rat! gnaw rope; rope won't hang butcher, &c. But the rat would not. "She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said, Cat! cat, kill rat; rat won't gnaw rope, &c. But the cat said, to her, If you will go to yonder cow, and fetch me a saucer of milk; I will kill the rat. So away went the old woman to the cow. “But the cow said to her, If you will go to yonder haystack,* and fetch me a handful of hay; I'll give you the milk. So away went the old woman to the haystack; and she brought the hay to the cow. "As soon as the cow had eaten the hay, she gave the old woman the milk; and away she went with it in a saucer to the cat. "As soon as the cat had lapped up the milk, the cat began to kill the rat; the rat began to gnaw the rope; the rope began to hang the butcher; the butcher began to kill the ox; the ox began to drink the water; the water began to quench the fire; the fire began to burn the stick; the stick began to beat the dog; the dog began to bite the pig; the little pig in a fright jumped over the stile; and so the old woman got home that night." "THERE was an old woman, that lived in a house: and, sweeping under her bed, she found a silver penny. So she went to * Or, haymakers, proceeding thus in the stead of the rest of this paragraph :—“ and fetch me a wisp of hay, I'll give you the milk. So away the old woman went, but the haymakers said to her, If you will go to yonder stream, and fetch us a bucket of water, we'll give you the hay. So away the old woman went, but when she got to the stream, she found the bucket was full of holes. So she covered the bottom with pebbles, and then filled the bucket with water, and away she went back with it to the haymakers; and they gave her a wisp of hay." market and bought a pig: but as she came home, the pig would not go over the stile. 66 66 'She went a little further, and she met a dog; and she said to the dog, Good dog! bite pig: pig won't go; and it's time that I was at home an hour and a half ago. But the dog would not. (And so forth, as in the other story, mutatis mutandis, to the Rat.) She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said to the cat, Good cat! kill rat; rat won't bite rope; rope won't hang butcher; butcher won't kill ox; ox won't drink water; water won't quench fire; fire won't burn stick; stick won't beat pig; pig won't go. And it's time that I was at home an hour and a half ago. "The cat began to kill the rat; the rat began (and so forth, as in the other story ;) the pig began to go. And so the old woman got home at last." It will be observed that these two versions, for which I am indebted to Mr. Black, are much more like the Hebrew tale than The House that Jack built; but as our collection would scarcely be complete without this latter, I shall insert a copy of it: 1. THIS is the house that Jack built. 2. This is the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 3.,This is the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 4. This is the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 5. This is the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 6. This is the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, M |