Classic Nursery Rhymes

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Hickory, dickory, dock

The mouse ran up the clock

The clock struck one, the mouse ran down

Hickory, dickory, dock

Fun Fact: This rhyme is thought to have been based on the astronomical clock at Exeter Cathedral in South West England. The clock has a small hole in the door below its face for the resident cat to hunt mice. 

(Source: Cathedral Cats, Richard Surman, HarperCollins, 2004.)

Do you know the Muffin Man?

The Muffin Man, the Muffin Man,

Do you know the Muffin Man

Who lives on Drury Lane?

Fun Fact: A simple traditional rhyme dating back to 1820. It referred to the man who delivered fresh baked goods to Victorian households. 

The rhyme has an accompanying game where children ask each other if they know the Muffin Man, to which they each reply in turn, “ Yes, I know the Muffin Man” - until they all say together, “We all know the Muffin Man.”

(Source: NurseryRhymes.com)

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet

Eating her curds and whey

Along came a spider 

Who sat down beside her

And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Fun Fact: While the origin of this nursery rhyme is not clear, some believe it refers to Mary Queen of Scots, who was believed to have been frightened by John Knox, a religious reformer. 

Many alternate versions exist, including “Little Miss Mopsey, sat in the shopsy,” and “Little Mary Ester, sat upon a tester.” There’s also a version that substitutes a different word for ‘whey,’ in countries where whey is not commonly eaten.

(Source: NurseryRhymes.com)

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

All the king's horses, and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty back together again

Fun Fact: Although Humpty is often portrayed as an egg, never once in the poem does it mention that he is an egg. This idea likely originated in the early 1800s, when children would say the poem as a riddle (with the answer being “ an egg"). It gained popularity in 1865 when Lewis Carroll described Humpty Dumpty as an anthropomorphic egg in his book Alice in Wonderland.