Mother Noose

I know that a lot of stories are meant to weave a tale that essentially scares a child into behaving properly, but boy do the Mother Goose stories take the cake in this category. Apparently I’ve learned very watered-down versions of the stories over the years, but a glance at The Real Mother Goose is quite eye-opening.

The Bird Scarer
Away, birds, away!
Take a little and leave a little,
And do not come again;
For if you do,
I will shoot you through,
And there will be an end of you.

Cry, Baby
Cry, baby, cry,
Put your finger in your eye,
And tell your mother it wasn’t I.

Goosey, Goosey, Gander
Goosey, goosey, gander,
Whither dost thou wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady’s chamber.

There I met an old man
Who wouldn’t say his prayers;
I took him by the left leg,
And threw him down the stairs.

Little Polly Flinders
Little Polly Flinders
Sat among the cinders
Warming her pretty toes;
Her mother came and caught her,
Whipped her little daughter
For spoiling her nice new clothes.

There Was an Old Woman
There was an woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children
She didn’t know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread.
She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.