Kindergarten Read Aloud Banquet

Nursery Songs for April

If All the World Were Paper



The Little Cock Sparrow



Ye Song of Sixpence



My Lady's Garden

A Child's Garden of Verses

Good and Bad Children

Children, you are very little,

And your bones are very brittle;

If you would grow great and stately,

You must try to walk sedately.


You must still be bright and quiet,

And content with simple diet;

And remain, through all bewild'ring,

Innocent and honest children.


Happy hearts and happy faces,

Happy play in grassy places—

That was how, in ancient ages,

Children grew to kings and sages.


But the unkind and the unruly,

And the sort who eat unduly,

They must never hope for glory—

Theirs is quite a different story!


Cruel children, crying babies,

All grow up as geese and gabies,

Hated, as their age increases,

By their nephews and their nieces.

  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Week 42 Farmer Brown's Boy Makes a Discovery Market Day with Father (Part 2 of 2) The Cat and the Mouse The Haughty Ground Hog The Little Shepherd The Whole Wheat Story Joseph, the Dreamer
The King of France Ten O'Clock Scholar Peter Piper The Cat and the Fiddle One to Ten Two Blackbirds An Equal
First row Previous row          Next row Last row


Old Old Tales Retold  by Frederick Richardson
[Illustration]

dropcap image N old woman found a crooked sixpence while sweeping her door-yard. "What shall I do with this sixpence?" she said. "I will go to the market and buy a pig."

Then the old woman went to the market and bought a pig. On her way home she came to a stile and then the pig would not go over the stile.

"Pig, pig, get over the stile,

Or I can not get home tonight."

But the pig would not.

Then she went a little further and met a dog; and she said to the dog:

"Dog, dog, bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

[Illustration]

But the dog would not.

Then she went a little farther and met a stick; and she said to the stick:

"Stick, stick, beat the dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

[Illustration]

But the stick would not.

Then she went a little farther and met a fire; and she said to the fire:

"Fire, fire, burn stick;

Stick won't beat dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

But the fire would not.

Then she went a little farther and met some water; and she said to the water:

"Water, water, quench fire;

Fire won't burn stick;

Stick won't beat dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

But the water would not.

Then she went a little farther and met an ox; and she said to the ox:

"Ox, ox, drink water;

Water won't quench fire;

Fire won't burn stick;

Stick won't beat dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

[Illustration]

But the ox would not.

Then she went a little farther and met a butcher; and she said to the butcher:

"Butcher, butcher pen ox;

Ox won't drink water;

Water won't quench fire;

Fire won't burn stick;

Stick won't beat dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

[Illustration]

But the butcher would not.

Then she went a little farther and met a rope; and she said to the rope:

"Rope, rope, whip butcher;

Butcher won't pen ox;

Ox won't drink water;

Water won't quench fire;

Fire won't burn stick;

Stick won't beat dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

But the rope would not.

Then she went a little farther and met a rat; and she said to the rat:

"Rat, rat, gnaw rope;

Rope won't whip butcher;

Butcher won't pen ox;

Ox won't drink water;

Water won't quench fire;

Fire won't burn stick;

Stick won't beat dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

[Illustration]

But the rat would not.

Then she went a little farther and met a cat; and she said to the cat:

"Cat, cat, bite rat;

Rat won't gnaw rope;

Rope won't whip butcher;

Butcher won't pen ox;

Ox won't drink water;

Water won't quench fire;

Fire won't burn stick;

Stick won't beat dog;

Dog won't bite pig;

Pig won't get over the stile;

And I can not get home tonight."

[Illustration]

But the cat said to her, "If you will get me a saucer of milk, I will bite the rat." Then the old woman gave a wisp of hay to a cow that was near, and the cow gave her a saucer of milk. Then the old woman gave the saucer of milk to the cat and this is what happened:

The cat began to bite the rat; the rat began to gnaw the rope; the rope began to whip the butcher; the butcher began to pen 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 pig got over the stile; and the old woman got home that night.


[Illustration]