English rhymes and stories
The Dark and Mysterious Origins of 10 Classic Nursery Rhymes
In the canon of great horror writing, Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley tend to dominate the craft. But Mother Goose isn’t too far behind. Yes, that fictional grande dame of kiddie poems has got a bit of a dark streak, as evidenced by the unexpectedly sinister theories surrounding the origins of these 10 well-known nursery rhymes.
Table Of Contents
- 1. Baa, Baa, Black Sheep // 1731
- 2. Goosey Goosey Gander // 1784
- 3. Jack and Jill // 1765
- 4. London Bridge Is Falling Down // 1744
- 5. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary // 1744
- 6. Three Blind Mice // 1805
- 7. Eeny Meeny Miny Mo // Early 19th Century
- 8. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush // 1840
- 9. Rock-A-Bye Baby // 1765
- 10. Ring Around the Rosie // 1881
1.
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep // 1731Though most scholars agree that “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” is about the Great Custom, a tax on wool that was introduced in 1275, its use of the color black and the word master led some to wonder whether there was a racial message at its center. Its political correctness was called into question yet again in the latter part of the 20th century, with some schools banning it from being repeated in classrooms, and others simply switching out the word black for something deemed less offensive. In 2011, news outlets reported on the proliferation of “Baa, Baa, Rainbow Sheep” as an alternative.
2. Goosey Goosey Gander // 1784
This nursery rhyme isn't really about a goose. / Sean Gallup/GettyImages
It’s hard to imagine that any rhyme with the phrase goosey goosey in its title could be described as anything but feel-good. But one popular version of the ditty is actually a tale of religious persecution. Some years after the song’s first appearance in the historical record, it was appended with some disturbing lines. “[T]here I met an old man, who wouldn't say his prayers, so I took him by his left leg and threw him down the stairs.” Ouch!
According to noted English folklorists Iona and Peter Opie, “It is very probable that they had a separate origin. They are much the same as the lines which school-children address to the cranefly (‘Daddy-long-legs’), sometimes pulling off its legs as they repeat,
Old Father Long-Legs
/ Can’t say his prayers;
/ Take him by the left leg,
/ And throw him downstairs.”
3. Jack and Jill // 1765
One of the most common theories surrounding the story’s origin is that it’s about France’s Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, who were both found guilty of treason and subsequently beheaded. The only problem is that those events occurred nearly 30 years after “Jack and Jill” was first written. The more likely story attributes the rhyme to the 17th-century king of England, Charles I. Apparently he attempted to increase taxes on alcohol, which were generally measured in units known as jacks and gills. After that failed, he instead reduced the of a jack (about one-eighth of a pint), and in turn, the gill, which is twice the size of a jack. So the gill’s increased price “came tumbling after.”
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4. London Bridge Is Falling Down // 1744
Part of Old London Bridge, c1600. / Print Collector/GettyImages
In 2006, Fergie got saucy with some of this classic kid tune’s lyrics. But the original song wasn’t much better. Depending on whom you ask, “London Bridge is Falling Down” could be about a 1014 Viking attack or the normal deterioration of an old bridge. More specifically, many sources tie the nursery rhyme to the alleged destruction of London Bridge at the hands of Olaf II of Norway some time in the early 1000s. (“Alleged” because some historians don’t believe that attack ever took place.) The song’s popularity around the world is often cited as further proof that it was the Vikings who created it, believing that they brought the tune to the many places they traveled.
There's a pretty big problem with this explanation, though. It largely hinges on Samuel Laing's 19th-century translation of an Old Norse poem that seems to mirror the well-known “London Bridge.” The translation begins, “London Bridge is broken down—Gold is won, and bright renown.” That apparently illustrative similarity is no accident, though. It’s quite likely that the translation was, in fact, intentionally mimicking the already well known nursery rhyme. A more accurate translation, from years later, renders the similarities between the skaldic verse and the children's rhyme basically non-existent.
5. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary // 1744
Mary I. / Print Collector/GettyImages
“Contrary” is one way to describe a murderous psychopath. This popular English nursery rhyme, which reads like a solicitation for gardening advice, is actually—according to many—a recounting of the homicidal nature of Queen Mary I of England, a.k.a. Bloody Mary. A fierce believer in Catholicism, her reign as queen—from 1553 to 1558—was marked by the execution of hundreds of Protestants. (Silver bells and cockle shells, in this understanding, are actually torture devices, not garden accouterments.)
6. Three Blind Mice // 1805
“Three Blind Mice” is supposedly yet another ode to Bloody Mary’s reign, with the trio in question believed to be a group of Protestant bishops—Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Radley, and The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer—who (unsuccessfully) conspired to overthrow the queen and were burned at the stake for their heresy. Critics suggest that the blindness in the title refers to their religious beliefs.
7. Eeny Meeny Miny Mo // Early 19th Century
No, there’s nothing particularly inflammatory about the lines “Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo, Catch a tiger by his toe.” Different versions of the tune popped up around the world, and most are appropriately innocent. The late 19th/early 20th century version in the United States was explicitly racist, though, with a racial slur in place of the tiger kids catch today. That version has, for good reason, fallen out of favor.
Even with the lyrical switch-out, a reference to the poem can still be offensive. In 2004, two Black passengers sued Southwest Airlines for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress, following an incident where a flight attendant used the rhyme in a humorous fashion during takeoff when she told passengers: “Eeny meeny miny mo, Please sit down it’s time to go. ” (The court sided with the airline.)
8. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush // 1840
The theorized origin for this nursery rhyme isn't exactly cute. / Tran Vu Quang Duy/Moment/Getty Images
“Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” is often sung as part of a children’s game. Historian R. S. Duncan, a former governor of England’s Wakefield Prison, suggested that the song originated with that 420-year-old institution’s female prisoners, who exercised around a mulberry tree. Which is probably not the connotation your 6-year-old self had in mind.
9. Rock-A-Bye Baby // 1765
One interpretation of this famous lullaby is that it is about the son of King James II of England and Mary of Modena. It’s widely believed that the boy was not their son at all, but a child who was brought into the birthing room and passed off as their own in order to ensure a Roman Catholic heir to the throne.
10. Ring Around the Rosie // 1881
Experts doubt the plague theory for this nursery rhyme. / Stephen Simpson/Moment/Getty Images
Considering that some of today’s classic nursery rhymes are more than two centuries old, there are often several theories surrounding their origins—and not a lot of sound proof about which argument is correct. But of all the alleged nursery rhyme backstories, “Ring Around the Rosie” is probably the most infamous. Though its lyrics and even its title have gone through some changes over the years, the most popular contention is that the sing-songy verse refers to the 1665 Great Plague of London. “The rosie” is the rash that covered the afflicted, the smell from which they attempted to cover up with “a pocket full of posies.” The plague killed nearly 15 percent of the country’s population, which makes the final verse—“Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down”—rather self-explanatory.
But Snopes labels this reading false, and quotes folklorist Philip Hiscock with a more likely suggestion: That the nursery rhyme probably has its origins “in the religious ban on dancing among many Protestants in the nineteenth century, in Britain as well as here in North America. Adolescents found a way around the dancing ban with what was called in the United States the ‘play-party.’ Play-parties consisted of ring games which differed from square dances only in their name and their lack of musical accompaniment. They were hugely popular, and younger children got into the act, too.”
A version of this story ran in 2015; it has been updated for 2022.
Fairy Tales, Nursery Rhymes, and Children's Songs
I've added a lot to this page but I've tried to keep it easy to scroll. There aren't just fairy tales -- keep scrolling down (or click the link) to find Nursery Rhymes and children's songs.
[Fairy Tales] [Nursery Rhymes] [Songs] [Videos]
These sections contain more than just the words/lyrics. Each section has free printable coloring pages, craft ideas, puppets, felt board characters, word wall word worksheets, picture crossword puzzles and other activity sheets to go with the songs, rhymes and stories!
- Aesop's Fables (Greek)
- Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (Middle East)
- Beauty and the Beast (French)
- Bremen Town Musicians (German)
- Cinderella
- Emperor's New Clothes (Danish)
- Firebird (Ukranian)
- Frog Prince
- Gingerbread Man
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears
- Greek Mythology
- Guardian of the Forest
- Hansel and Gretel (German)
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- Little Mermaid (Danish)
- Little Red Hen
- Little Red Ridinghood (French)
- Marie and the Orange Fish (African)
- Molly Murphy and the Scorched Leprechaun (Irish)
- Moon Maiden (Japanese)
- Puss in Boots
- Rapunzel
- Rumpelstiltskin (German)
- Seven Voyages of Sinbad (Middle East)
- Shakespeare Stories (British)
- Sleeping Beauty
- Small Abdul and the Caliph's Daughter (Muslim)
- Snow White and the Dwarves
- Stone Soup
- Three Little Pigs
- Thumbelina (Danish)
- Ugly Duckling (Danish)
- A Tisket, A Tasket
- Baa, Baa Black Sheep
- Daffy Down Dilly
- Donkey, Donkey Old and Gray
- Five Busy Honey Bees
- Five Green Shamrocks
- Five Little Chickens
- Five Little Ducks
- Five Little Fishies
- Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
- Five Little Owls
- Five Little Pumpkins
- Five Little Snowflakes
- Hey Diddle Diddle
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- Humpty Dumpty
- I Had a Little Nut Tree
- I See the Moon
- Jack and Jill
- Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home
- Little Bo Peep
- Little Boy Blue
- Little Jack Horner
- Little Miss Muffet
- Man in the Moon
- Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
- Old King Cole
- Old Mother Hubbard
- Owl and the Pussycat
- Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater
- Pussycat, Pussycat where have you been?
- Sing a Song of Sixpence
- Star Light, Star Bright
- This Little Chick
- Three Blind Mice
- Wise Old Owl
- Baby Bumblebee
- B-I-N-G-O
- Bullfrog Song
- Butterfly Song (bible)
- Crocodile Song
- Farmer in the Dell
- Five Green and Speckled Frogs
- Going on a Lion Hunt
- Hand Washing Song
- Here Comes Peter Cottontail (Easter)
- If You Should Meet an Elephant (four seasons)
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Jesus Song
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Mr. Sun
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- Penguin Song
- Six Little Ducks
- Squirrel Song
- Teasing Mr. Crocodile
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Wheels on the Bus
You may also enjoy our nursery rhyme themed online jigsaw puzzles.
Try nursery rhyme picture bingo cards or fairy tales picture bingo cards.
Poems in English with translation and meaning
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English poetry is a good way to learn a language. They will introduce you to new vocabulary, and thanks to their beautiful sound and sometimes very deep meaning, they will become a portion of inspiration and motivation if the usual language practice no longer brings joy.
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What are the advantages of English poetry?
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You memorize new words faster thanks to rhyme and precise time signature.
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You will learn how sentences are built in English - this will help improve your writing and speaking skills.
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You get food for thought and find answers to many life questions.
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You get to know a new poet, creativity and culture and broaden your horizons.
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You can entertain any audience and impress your family and friends with your talent.
We have made for you a selection of short and easy poems in English with translation into Russian, which are suitable for both adults and children to study. For convenience, the poems were divided into themes.
Poems in English about life
Mood to reflect on the meaning of life? It is better to read poetry in English - and you will improve your language, and new thoughts will appear.
Original | Free translation |
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Sun of the sleepless! melancholy star! Sogleams the past, the light of other days, George Gordon Byron | Sleepless sun! Sad star! So the past shines on us in the night of life, George Gordon Byron |
Original | Literal translation |
What is this life if, full of care, No time to stand beneath the boughs No time to see, when woods we pass, No time to see, in broad daylight, No time to turn at Beauty's glance, No time to wait till her mouth can A poor life this if, full of care, William Henry Davies | What is our life if, full of worries, No time to stop under the branches No time to look around when we walk through the forest, There is no time to see streams in the light of day, There is no time to turn around at the gaze of Beauty herself There is no time to wait until her lips Such a life is poor if, full of worries, William Henry Davis |
Original | Free translation |
Life, believe, is not a dream Sometimes there are clouds of gloom, Rapidly, merrily, What though Death at times steps in Yet Hope again elastic springs, Manfully, fearlessly, Charlotte Brontë | Believe that life is not a game, Let the sky look gloomy - Crazy, irrevocable, So what if death is always Hope for difficulties in spite of Let us meet many and difficult Charlotte Brontë |
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Poems in English about love
When it is difficult to express your feelings to a loved one, a love poem will save the situation.
Original | Literal translation |
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If I had two nickels to rub together, Kevin Varrone | If I could rub two nickels together, Kevin Varron |
Original | Literal translation |
When you are old and gray and full of sleep, How many loved your moments of glad grace, And bending down beside the glowing bars, William Butler Yeats | When you are middle-aged, gray-haired and full of sleep How many loved your moments of happy grace And, bending over the red-hot grate, William Butler Yeats |
Poems in English about friendship
As they say, strong friendship will not break, but with poems it will become even stronger! Tell a friend a poem in English to show how much he means to you.
Original | Literal translation |
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I cannot ease your aching heart, I'll listen when you need to talk, I'm here, and I will stand by you You're not alone, for I'm still here. Unknown author | I can't heal your aching heart, I will listen when you need to talk, I am here and I will be by your side You are not alone because I am still here. Unknown author |
Original | Literal translation |
I have a friend Unknown author | I have a friend, Unknown author |
Poems in English about birthday
Do you want to impress the birthday man with an unusual congratulation? Learn a holiday poem for him in English!
Original | Free translation |
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Have an amazing birthday, Save problems with the "cold" reaction, Unknown author | May your birthday be amazing, Take a calm look at all problems Unknown author |
Original | Free translation |
I wish you wisdom for right decisions, Be strong and healthy, don't ever change, Unknown author | I wish you wisdom for the right decisions, I also wish you strength and health, Unknown author |
Original | Literal translation |
Birthday girl, today's your day! Unknown author | Birthday girl, today is your day! Unknown author |
Poems in English about the New Year
Don't know what toast to say at the New Year's table? Turn on your creativity - tell a poem in English!
Original | Literal translation |
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New Year's Day, a happy day! Unknown author | New Year's Day, happy day! Unknown author |
Original | Literal translation |
Come, children, gather round my knee, Tonight's December thirty-first, Hark! It's midnight, dear children. Ogden Nash | Come on, children, all to me, This evening, December 31st, Chu! It's midnight, dear children. Ogden Nash |
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Poetry in English. English poems
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This section contains poems in English for every taste!
Learning English words by reading poetry is much easier, because rhyme helps me remember more words.
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A light poem about the love of a bird and a flower. John B. Tabb - A Duet.
level: for beginners,
successfully completed the lesson: 834 people
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Robert Louis Stevenson - Autumn Fires. Poem about autumn in English.
level: for beginners,
successfully completed the lesson: 567 people
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Rudyard Kipling's famous poem If.
level: difficult,
successfully completed the lesson: 221 person(s)
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We read a sad poem in English. Suicide in the trenches.
level: medium,
successfully completed the lesson: 154 people
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A poem about a friend. An old story.
level: medium,
successfully passed the lesson: 401 person(s)
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A short love poem in English. A White Rose.
level: for beginners,
successfully completed the lesson: 940 people
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William Blake - The Smile. Learn new words by reading a poem in English.
level: medium,
successfully completed the lesson: 334 people
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Edgar A. Guest - When You Know a Fellow. We read a poem in English.
level: difficult,
successfully completed the lesson: 163 people
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A knight's ballad called Eyes of the Cod from Lewis Carroll's famous fairy tale Alice Through the Looking-Glass.
level: difficult,
successfully completed the lesson: 136 people
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Sara Teasdale - Debt. We read a short poem about love in English.
level: for beginners,
successfully completed the lesson: 563 people
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A poem about a man who is tired of doing nothing. Tired Tim.
level: medium,
successfully completed the lesson: 312 people
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Learning a poem for the New Year. The Christmas Fires. #newyear
level: medium,
successfully passed the lesson: 159 people
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Reading a poem and learning new words. Algernon Charles Swinburne - Swan Song.
level: medium,
successfully completed the lesson: 179 people
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An unexpected opinion in the poem The Wicked Zebra.
level: medium,
successfully completed the lesson: 181 person(s)
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