Day Three of the Truth Behind the Nursery Rhymes: Little Bo Peep/ Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater/ Itsy Bitsy Spider/ This Little Piggy

Nursery Rhymes were created for several different reasons. In past posts we learned that some were created to mark a certain gruesome period of in history or to commemorate something that has survived for years. Now, we see them being created to act as warnings to young children and women, or as educational tools for children...

Little Bo peep has lost her sheep
And doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone and they'll come home,
Bringing their tails behind them.

Little Bo peep fell fast asleep
And dreamt she heard them bleating,
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were all still fleeting.

Then up she took her little crook
Determined for to find them.
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they left their tails behind them.

It happened one day, as Bo peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side
All hung on a tree to dry.

She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks went rambling,
And tried what she could,
As a shepherdess should,

To tack again each to its lambkin.

The Little Bo Peep rhyme builds the picture of a young shepherdess and the advice given to her by someone more experienced! It is interesting that the name of Little Bo Peep was derived from the derivative of the words bleat and sheep! There is no specific relevance to events in history for the origins of the Little Bo Peep rhyme. The morale of the words in the song are that one must take responsibility of falling asleep or face the consequences... The words of Little Bo Peep are quite interesting as they contain words that are an almost forgotten part of the English language. Words such as espied, hillocks and lambkin can all be found in the story of Little Bo Peep

Peter, Peter , pumpkin-eater,
Had a wife and couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well

This nursery rhyme also has its roots in America, unlike most that started in England. It was a different time back then for women, and for views on divorce, too, which is why this rhyme served to warn young girls about infidelity. Peter's wife was supposedly a harlot, and Peter's remedy for the situation was to kill her and hide her body in a giant pumpkin shell.

Itsy Bitsy spider climbing up the spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
Now Itsy Bitsy spider went up the spout again!

The lyric to the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider" create a finger rhyme for children. All children love trying to mimic the actions of Itsy Bitsy Spider song. The movements and actions of Itsy Bitsy Spider help children to improve their manual dexterity whilst repeating the words of the song. The name of the spider seems to vary but 'Itsy Bitsy spider' is believed to be the most popular version although in England Itsy Bitsy Spider is known as Incy Wincy spider! The history and origin of the Itsy Bitsy spider rhyme cannot be traced, it is believed just to be a fun finger rhyme that has survived the test of time.

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went...
"Wee wee wee" all the way home...

The words for "This little piggy" nursery rhyme are used to point out each one of the child's toes! The last line in "This little piggy" is used to accompany the child being tickled by the narrator of the poem! This rhyme is extremely popular which ensures that it will be passed from generation to generation. The first publication date for the words and lyrics for this nursery rhyme was in 1728.

Original information and images can be found at...

http://brainz.org/24-terrifying-thoughtful-and-absurd-nursery-rhymes-children/,

http://www.rhymes.org.uk/, and Bing images.