Rhymes: Oh, Mother ...

Rhymes: Oh, Mother ...

THE PETER PATTER BOOK

A COPPER DOWN A CRACK

Jingle, jingle, Jack, A copper down a crack. Twenty men and all their wives, With sticks and picks and pocket knives, Digging for their very lives To get the copper back.

I'M MUCH TOO BIG FOR A FAIRY

I'm much too big for a fairy, And much too small for a man, But this is true: Whatever I do, I do it the best I can.

DID YOU EVER PLAY TAG WITH A TIGER?

Did you ever play tag with a tiger, Or ever play boo with a bear; Did you ever put rats in the rain-barrel To give poor old Granny a scare?

It's fun to play tag with a tiger, It's fun for the bear to say "boo," But if rats are found in the rain-barrel Old Granny will put you in too.

Hot mush and molasses all in a blue bowl-- Eat it, it's good for you, sonny. 'T will make you grow tall as a telephone pole-- Eat it, it's good for you, sonny.

Fresh fish and potatoes all on a blue plate-- Eat it up smart now, my sonny. 'T will make you as jolly and fat as Aunt Kate-- Eat it up quick now, my sonny.

Sweet milk from a nanny-goat in a blue cup-- Drink it, it's good for you, sonny, 'T will fill you, expand you, and help you grow up, And make a real man of you, sonny.

HIPPITY HOP TO BED

O it's hippity hop to bed! I'd rather sit up instead. But when father says "must," There's nothing but just Go hippity hop to bed.

AWAY TO THE RIVER

Away to the river, away to the wood, While the grasses are green and the berries are good! Where the locusts are scraping their fiddles and bows, And the bees keep a-coming wherever one goes.

Oh, it's off to the river and off to the hills, To the land of the bloodroot and wild daffodils, With a buttercup blossom to color my chin, And a basket of burs to put sandberries in.

Our little Pat Was chasing the cat And kicking the kittens about. When mother said "Quit!" He ran off to sit On the top of the woodpile and pout; But a sly little grin Soon slid down his chin And let all the sulkiness out.

Father and mother and Bobbie will go To see all the sights at the animal show. Where lions and bears Sit on dining room chairs, Where a camel is able To stand on a table, Where monkeys and seals All travel on wheels, And a Zulu baboon Rides a baby balloon. The sooner you're ready, the sooner we'll go. Aboard, all aboard, for the Animal Show!

Billy be nimble, Hurry and see Old Tommy Trimble Climbing a tree. He claws with his fingers And digs with his toes. The longer he lingers The slower he goes.

DICKIE, DICKIE DEXTER

Dickie, Dickie Dexter Had a wife and vexed her. She put him in a rabbit cage And fed him peppermint and sage-- Dickie, Dickie Dexter.

ON THE ROAD TO TATTLETOWN

On the road to Tattletown What is this I see? A pig upon a pedestal, A cabbage up a tree, A rabbit cutting capers With a twenty dollar bill-- Now if I don't get to Tattletown Then no one ever will.

Polly had some china cows And Peter had a gun. She turned the bossies out to browse, And Peterkin, for fun, Just peppered them with butter beans And blew them all to smithereens.