Real Stories Behind Nursery Rhymes Quiz

Answer: Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty was originally meant to be the answer to a riddle that experts believe is thousands of years old. There are many references to Humpty Dumpty throughout history. In the late 17th century, Humpty Dumpty was the name of a popular ale and brandy drink. Squat, roly-poly people have been described as the famous egg. Girls in 19th century America played a game called Humpty Dumpty where players held their skirts tightly around their feet, rolled backwards, and tried to regain their balance without letting go of their skirts. All this because one unfortunate egg fell off a wall.

Answer: Old King Cole

There really was a King Cole and he ruled England during the third century. It is perhaps this king who is the subject of this nursery rhyme. Another explanation is that King Cole was actually a rich English clothier named Thomas Cole-Brook. The clothier, known as Old Cole, had many servants and, despite lacking a royal title, lived like a king. King Cole's pipe is also a matter of dispute. Did he really smoke tobacco or is the pipe referring to a wind instrument such as a flute? What do YOU think?

Answer: Jack be Nimble

The rules of the game were simple. A lighted candle was placed on the floor. Those who could successfully jump over the candle without extinguishing it or catching fire were assured a year's worth of good fortune. Those who didn't make it over were, at the very least, left with a pair of singed trousers.

In some villages candlestick jumping was the highlight of St. Catherine's Day, November 25.

Answer: Little Miss Muffet

One scholar believes that Miss Muffet was actually Mary, Queen of Scots and the spider represented the minister John Knox who wanted to frighten the ruler, a Roman Catholic, away from her throne. Another possibility is that Miss Muffet was Patience Muffet, daughter of Dr. Thomas Muffet, a 15th century entomologist.

It's not much of a stretch to imagine the daughter of an entomologist being frightened away by one of her father's specimens. What exactly is a tuffet anyway? It's a stool with a tufted cushion. What's in a bowl of curds and whey? It's a blend of coagulated milk and watery cheese product. Yum!

Answer: Hush-a-Bye, Baby

In the first printed version of this nursery rhyme found in a 1765 edition of "Mother Goose's Melody," a footnote indicated that the rhyme was a warning to the proud and ambitious who climbed so high that they eventually fell. I like to think that the message is much simpler: be careful where you place your baby's cradle!

Answer: Mary Had a Little Lamb

Despite the claims of some who insisted they were the original Mary, Mrs. Hale assured everyone that her rhyme was not based on any particular incident. And what about a lamb following a child to school? Is that really possible? Mrs. Hale thought so. Incidentally, Thomas Edison chose this nursery rhyme as the first sounds to come from his new invention - the phonograph.

Answer: Jack and Jill

In the 1765 edition of "Mother Goose's Melody," the characters were two boys named Jack and Gill. A woodcut that accompanied the original rhyme showed two boys. At one time there was a belief that the two boys represented a well-known cardinal and bishop from the time of King Henry VIII. Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould, in his 1866 book "Curious Myths of the Middle Ages," theorized that the two figures originated in Scandinavian myth. According to this myth, the moon, Mani, captured two children, Hjuki and Bil, while they were filling their pail with water.

This myth explains the origins of the markings on the moon. Over the years, many verses have been added to the original six lines, explaining what happened to the children after they fell down the hill... quite violent by today's standards.

Answer: Tom,Tom the Piper's Son

Illustrators have often shown Tom running away with a live pig. But this image only confuses children who want to know what really happened to the pig. Did Tom kill the pig and eat it? The truth is that the pig was not a live animal at all but rather a pig-shaped pastry filled with fruit.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was common to see street vendors selling these treats. In the early part of the 19th century, books about the further adventures of the piper's son began appearing, all under the title "Tom, the Piper's Son."

Answer: Hey Diddle Diddle

Over the years scholars have tried to make sense of this rhyme. Some theorize that the cat represents Queen Elizabeth and the dog represents Robert Dudley, one of her suitors. Other believe that the lines of the rhyme depict the antics of the courtiers during the reign of Catherine of Aragon in the early 1500s. Still others claim that the dish running away with the spoon symbolizes Richard III"s seizure of the throne of England. That's a lot of history in six short lines!

Answer: Ring Around the Rosie/Ring-a-Ring o' Roses

Supposedly this nursery rhyme alludes to the Black Plague of the 14th century. Many of us have heard the stories about the ring representing the rash and the posies representing the herbs to ward off the sickness. Even the falling down represents dying from the sickness. Most scholars believe this is false. For one thing, the rhyme didn't appear in print until 1881, long after the Black Plague. Also, there are many different versions of the nursery rhyme.

It is safe to say that the origin of this nursery rhyme cannot be determined.