Nursery rhymes have a long history. Some claim they date from pre-historic times. Traditionally they were verses with rhythm and rhyme that parents or nannies would tell or recite to children in the nursery. This was not only for their enjoyment but also helped the children develop their speaking and listening skills. Many were passed on from mouth to mouth at a time when very few people could read or write. Sometimes they were just for fun. Others were meant to teach a moral or lesson. While there are some very well-known nursery rhymes that always appear in poetry collections and books, there are hundreds more waiting to be rediscovered. One group of nursery rhymes are the lullabies, songs and melodies. Some of them are a little bit scary. Here is an example: Bye, bye bunting Daddy's gone a-hunting Gone to get a rabbit skin To wrap a baby bunting in Another group were designed to amuse young children. They could be counting or alphabet rhymes: One, two, three, four, five Once I caught a fish alive Six, seven, eight, nine, ten Then I let him go again Why did I let him go? Because he bit my finger so Which finger did he bite? This little finger on my right Here is a finger game: 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 cried, Wee, wee, wee All the way home Here is a classic nursery rhyme that began life as a riddle: 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 together again Other examples of classic rhymes include: Baa, baa black sheep Have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir Three bags full One for my master One for my dame And one for the little boy Who lives down the lane And finally: Ring-a ring a rosie A pocket full of posies Atchoo, Atchoo We all fall down Glossary nanny (n) - a person employed to look after a child nursery (n) - a special room for babies and young children lullaby (n) - a soothing song to send a baby to sleep melody (n) - a musical tune riddle (n) - a verbal trick or puzzling question classic (adj) - excellent or really important Comprehension 1. Complete the sentence. Many were passed on from mouth to mouth at a time when very few people could _______________________. 2. Who recited nursery rhymes to children? 3. Where did the first little piggy go? 4. Why couldn't all the King's horses and all the King's men put Humpty Dumpty back together again? 5. How much wool did the black sheep have? 6. Who were they for? Writing style Riddles Some nursery rhymes began life as riddles. But riddles come in all shapes and sizes. See if you can solve the following riddles. 7. What's black and white and read all over? 8. What goes up but never goes down? 9. What shines on the earth but has no light? Hong Kong nursery rhyme Do you know any nursery rhymes about Hong Kong? Perhaps it would be fun to try to write one. Here is an example of a counting rhyme: A noodle seller came to town He sold his noodles counting down Five, four, three, two, one ... And here's a lullaby: Rock the bamboo cradle, Rock it to and fro Rest and lie there sweetly It's off to sleep you go Crossword Whether a baby sleeps in a separate nursery or room or not, they still need lots of things. Look at the list below and decide which baby item answers the clues. Write your answers in the squares. List: dummy, bottle, pram, doll, cot, rattle, toys 1. A baby might suck this for comfort 2. What a baby may shake and make a noise with 3. A baby may be pushed around in this 4. Babies play with these 5. Something babies sleep in 6. A toy that looks like a baby 7. Babies drink milk from one of these Answers: 1. read or write, 2. Parents and nannies, 3. To the market, 4. Because he was an egg, 5. Three bags full, 6. One for my master, one for the dame and one for the little boy who lived down the lane, 7. A newspaper or book, 8. Your age, 9. The moon Crossword: 1. dummy, 2. rattle, 3. pram, 4. toys, 5. cot, 6. doll, 7. bottle