Canções de Crianças - Nursery Rhymes (continuação)
Outras canções falam sobre a vida no campo e animais de fazendas, tais como ovelhas (sheep) ou camundongos (mice). Entre elas estão Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Little Miss Muffet, Sing a Song of Sixpence e Three Blind Mice.
Baa baa black sheep
Baa baa black sheep,
have you any wool*?
Yes sir, yes sir,
three bags full!
One for the master,
one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
who lives down the lane.
*Algumas teorias afirmam que esta cantiga se refere à taxa sobre a lã na Inglaterra em 1275.
Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet*
sat on a tuffet
eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
and sat down beside her.
And frightened Miss Muffet away
*Ms. Muffet, dizem, foi a filha de Dr. Thomas Muffet, um cientista famoso do século XVI que estudava insetos.
Sing a Song of Sixpence*
Sing a song of sixpence,
a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds,
baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened
the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish
to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house
counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlour
eating bread and honey
The maid was in the garden
hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird
and pecked off her nose!
*Acredita-se que essa canção se refira à vida de Henry VII. Explicação da letra: O centeio (rye) foi comprado por sixpence (seis pence = plural de penny - moeda divisionária inglesa - 1/100 da libra), para atrair pássaros pretos (blackbirds) e outros pássaros eram de fato apreciados como iguaria. Porém, pode ser que um funcionário do rei (talvez um bobo da corte) tenha sugerido assar a massa da torta e recheá-la com alguns blackbirds, para fazer uma surpresinha ao rei! Era de se esperar que os blackbirds procurassem se vingar, daí: "When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!".
Three Blind Mice
Three blind mice!
See, how they run!
They all ran after
the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails
with the carving knife!
Did you ever see
such a thing in your life,
As three blind mice?
