Nursery Rhymes are Terrifying...the saga ends

Missed another night, grrrr....and I was doing so good at the start. Oh well, that means another double dose post. The first rhyme is one I had never heard until I started my nursery rhyme research. It's called "Ladybug, Ladybug" and was written in 1744.

Ladybug, ladybug

Fly away home

Your house is on fire

And your children all gone

All except one

And that's little Ann

For she crept under

The frying pan

What in the world? Had this been written today, I would assume it was some social commentary on working mothers. Busy, career oriented ladybug goes off to work leaving her little ones at home. House catches fire while she's away (most likely because she left the flat iron on in her dash to get to the office), and all but one of her children are burned to death. And poor, sweet, Ann will have to live with the burn scars and the emotional horror of watching her siblings melt in the heat. Sweet dreams kids!

Next is "Solomon Grundy" from 1842, another rather obscure tale.

Solomon Grundy

Born on a Monday

Christened on Tuesday

Married on Wednesday

Took ill on Thursday

Grew worse on Friday

Died on Saturday

Buried on Sunday

This is the end

Of Solomon Grundy

So first off, I think promoting the idea of 3 day olds getting married is disgusting. I don't even think the mormons would advocate this. And then, after his forced betrothal, poor little Solomon contracts some hideous disease that kills him within the week. Brings a tear to my eye and a chill to my spine. Cross this one off the list as well. Nothing good can come of sharing this with your child (unless your 3 day old is thinking about getting married, then you can use it as a cautionary tale).

As we close this week of nursery rhymes, I can't help but think of the whole "Balloon Boy" saga that unfolded a few days ago. I'm still not sure what transpired, but you can bet that in the year 2210, children everywhere will be told about it in rhyme as they prepare for bed.

There was a young family

Who built a balloon

The dad wanted fame so badly

He didn't know what to do

So he grabbed his small boy

And put him in a box

Launched the balloon

And alerted the cops

When the balloon landed

The boy was not there

The neighbors all worried

He'd died in the air

As the townspeople gathered

Filled with sorrow and pain

The boy did appear

Saying "Twas all just a game"