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October 10, 2009

Little searches for nursery rhyme origins

By GORDIE LITTLE, Small Talk

Who knows how or why random thoughts and ideas creep or leap into your consciousness?

Some make perfect sense because they are related to something we're seeing or doing.

Others simply show up there. Those are the ones I like best.

My muses or angels (take your pick) have to work overtime with me. Some would call me a scatterbrain. I accept that as a compliment. Never one to remain on the beaten path, I love to wander in search of serendipity. I'm constantly surprised and amused by what I find around every one of life's corners, and I enjoy sharing those things with you.

STOLE A PIG
My wife, Kaye, has long since given up trying to figure me out. When I blurt something out, she simply nods knowingly and offers what she hopes is a note of encouragement.

I was answering e-mail recently and an old nursery rhyme showed up on my frontal lobes.

"John, John the piper's son," I hollered.

Back from the kitchen came her instant correction: "Tom, Tom — like your GPS system."

It was succinct, to the point and embarrassingly accurate.

I stopped writing the e-mail and opened a search engine, asking the inane question, "Where did 'Tom, Tom, the piper's son' originate?" For me, the answer was almost an epiphany. For my entire life, I had taken the content of the rhyme literally. A kid steals a pig, runs away with it, either eats it raw or finds a way to cook it quickly, is eventually caught in the act and punished for his crime. Right? Wrong.

The best guess from several people is that the ditty originated in 17th-century England. I discovered that, in those days, little candy pigs were available for sale along London streets. Our young miscreant grabbed one without paying, took off, and had to "pay the piper," as my late mother used to tell me many times every day.

It gives a whole, new meaning to the nursery rhyme and further exposes my ignorance about such things. I don't know anyone who ever earned a college degree in how nursery rhymes got started, but I still find it a fascinating endeavor.



AWAY HE RUN
Mother Goose, whose iconic picture shows her holding the reins of such a flying fowl in her hands, would be proud that many of her rhymes have endured for hundreds of years.

I've written about nursery rhymes in the past, and my most pleasant childhood memories are of my mother reading from "the book" or reciting them from her own youth. It was just as important for us to memorize dozens of the rhymes as it was to learn our ABCs.

How many nursery rhymes can your children or grandchildren remember by heart? If it's not many, perhaps you should reassess that aspect of your parenting skills.

"Tom, Tom, the piper's son

Stole a pig and away he run.

The pig was eat. Tom was beat.

Tom went crying down the street."

I found the best explanation for this rhyme in an article entitled, "How We Got Our Nursery Rhymes," published in the wonderful "Child Life" magazine Jan. 1, 2006.

Another thing. I've always wondered what a "runcible spoon" might be. So far as I can determine, it has no real definition except in the mind of Edward Lear and used in "The Owl and the Pussycat" and other works. He even drew a picture of his "dolomphious duck" holding such a spoon with a frog in it. That kind of nonsense makes perfect sense to me.

Now, let's hear you say, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" without hesitation.

Have a great day and please, drive carefully.

Gordie Little was for many years a well-known radio personality in the North Country and now hosts the "Our Little Corner" television program for Home Town Cable. Anyone with comments for him may send them to the newspaper or e-mail him at gordandk@aol.com.

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Lois Clermont, Editor

Cornell Cooperative Extension

Richard Gast: Cornell Ag Extension

Bob Grady

Guest Columns

Peter Hagar: Cornell Ag Connection

Health Advice

Ray Johnson: Climate Science

Gordie Little: Small Talk

Terry Mattingly: On Religion

Steve Ouellette: You Had To Ask

Colin Read: Everybody's Business

Senior Thoughts