The big book of NURSERY RHYMES
To the YoungestBaby of All withthe Love of theCompiler and theArtist.
Printed in Great Britain by Blackie & Son, Ltd., Glasgow
BLACKIE & SON LTD., 50 OLD BAILEY, LONDON, AND 17 STANHOPE STREET, GLASGOW
BLACKIE & SON (INDIA) LTD., BOMBAY; BLACKIE & SON (CANADA) LTD., TORONTO
CURLY LOCKS
Thou shalt sit on a
cushion and sew a
fine seam. And feed
upon strawberries
sugar and cream.
The big book of Nursery Rhymes
Edited by Walter Jerrold
Illustrated by Charles Robinson
Published by Blackie and Son, Ltd
London
INTRODUCTION
THE very title, Nursery Rhymes, which has come tobe associated with a great body of familiar verse, is in itselfsufficient indication of the manner in which that verse has beenpassed down from generation to generation. Who composed the littlepieces it is, save in a few cases, impossible to say: some arecertainly very old and were doubtless repeated thousands of timesbefore their first appearance in print. References to certainfavourites may be found in the pages of the dramatists of Elizabeth'stime.
Attempts are sometimes made to read into these Rhymes a deepersignificance than the obvious and simple one which has accounted fortheir enduring popularity in the Nursery, but this volume has no[4]concern with such profound interpretations, any more than have thelittle people who love the old jingles best.
The earliest known collection of Nursery Rhymes was published about1760 by John Newbery, the first publisher who devoted his attention tovery young readers. In his book, which included songs from the playsof Shakespeare, some of the Rhymes appeared with titles which soundstrange to our ears; thus "Ding, Dong, Bell" was called "Plato'sSong", while "There were Two Birds sat on a Stone" was "Aristotle'sSong". To each Rhyme was appended a moral maxim, as for example, to"Is John Smith within?" is added "Knowledge is a treasure, butpractice is the key to it". Most of the Rhymes in this little Newberycollection, amongst them "There was a little Man and he wooed a littleMaid" and "The Wise Men of Gotham", are repeated in the present volumeso far as
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