Rhymes - For Young and Old Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tommy Stout

There were objectors, in the past, to this rhyme, who said that it could teach children to be cruel to cats. Some of them came up with the following alternative, in a book which was published in 1949:-

'Ding dong bell;
Pussy's at the well.
Who took her there?
Little Johnny Hare.
Who'll bring her in?
Little Tommy Thin.
What a jolly boy was that,
To get some milk for pussy cat,
Who ne'er did any harm,
But played with the mice in his father's barn.'

Answer: laughed

This little rhyme, written in 1765, was meant to delight children with its silly impossibilities and to give them a glimpse into a fantasy world.

'Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed to see such fun
And the dish ran away with the spoon.'

Answer: They couldn't put him together again.

This poor, shattered creature was, of course, Humpty Dumpty. This was a nickname used in the 15th century for a fat person.
The Humpty Dumpty of the nursery rhyme probably wasn't a person at all. Most likely the name could have been given to a large cannon used by the Royalists against the Parliamentarians, during the English Civil War, when they were defending the walled city of Colchester in 1648. When the wall under the cannon was destroyed by the Roundheads (Parliamentarians), Humpty Dumpty fell down and, presumably because of its heavy weight, the king's men were unable to raise the cannon again to a higher level.

'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.'

Answer: Jack Sprat and his wife

This seems to have been a familiar, proverbial rhyme in the 17th century.

'Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean;
And so between them both, you see,
They licked the platter clean.'

Answer: tails

This is the usual, modern version of the nursery rhyme:-

'Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone and they'll come home,
Bringing their tails behind them.'

The rhyme continues with the story of how Bo Peep fell asleep. Her sheep escaped and they were lost. When the shepherdess awoke and found them, they had left their tails behind them. Sorrowfully she searched for and located these appendages and the rhyme finishes by telling us how she tried to put the tails back onto the sheep.

Answer: a big spider

In a story, which might not be true, about the origins of this little rhyme, the daughter of a 16th. century entomologist was frightened away from eating her curds and whey when one of her father's spiders fell down beside her.

'Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
eating her curds and whey;
There came a big spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.'

Answer: lamb

'Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow:
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.'

This sentimental rhyme was written for children in Boston (U.S.A.) in 1830 by Mrs. Sarah Hale and is taken from her book 'Poems For Our Children'. These words are historically interesting not just because of their age but also because they were the very first words ever recorded by Thomas Edison on his phonograph.

Answer: a pig

'Tom Tom the piper's son
Stole a pig and away did run.
The pig was eat and Tom was beat,
And Tom went howling down the street.'

This is an obvious instruction to children - not to steal. A well-deserved beating could follow.

Answer: Simon

Historically, fairs date back to the medieval era. You could see all kinds of food vendors there - some with stalls and others selling their wares from trays slung round their necks. Undoubtedly, Simple Simon met one of the latter type on his way to the fair.

'Simple Simon met a pieman going to the fair;
Said Simple Simon to the pieman, "Let me taste your ware."
Said the pieman to Simple Simon, "Show me first your penny."
Said Simple Simon to the pieman, "Sir, I have not any."'

Answer: fifth

A group of conspirators, of whom Guido Fawkes was one, plotted to blow up the House of Parliament in London, England, in 1605. It is well known that they were caught and executed for treason. After it was all over, the King and Parliament asked that sermons should be regularly preached to remind people of the awful consequences of treason. Every year, on the 5th of November, people let off fireworks and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes in remembrance of this plot.