Numbers You Know From Nursery Rhymes Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. There were some blind mice! See how they run! They all ran after the farmer's wife, Who cut off their tails with a carving knife. Did you ever see such a thing in your life As these blind mice? How many were there?

Answer: three

There were exactly three blind mice! There are suggestions that this "farmer's wife" was actually Queen Mary I who was said to be displeased with three "ratty" noblemen. In actuality, they weren't blinded, but they were burned at the stake.

2. Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye; How many blackbirds Were baked in a pie?

Answer: Four and twenty

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four-and-twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie!

The king was in his counting-house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlor,
Eating bread and honey.

There were four-and-twenty or 24 blackbirds in that pie.

"Sing a Song of Six Pence" is a well-known English nursery rhyme, possibly coming from the 1700s. It has been a reference in other works. In 1929 Agatha Christie published a short story "Sing a Song of Six Pence". Her 1953 Miss Marple mystery "A Pocket Full of Rye" features this poem. Two songs from the Beatles' "White Album", "Cry, Baby, Cry" and "Blackbird" allude to this poem.

3. Fill in all of the blanks with the same number: As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with __?__ wives, Each wife had __?__ sacks, Each sack had __?__ cats, Each cat had __?__ kits; Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were going to St. Ives? Don't tell how many were going to St. Ives - tell the missing number.

Answer: seven

As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits;
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?

The earliest published version from 1730 says nine wives, but the modern form of St. Ives from around 1825 has just seven wives. St. Ives was thought to be a busy fishing port in Cornwall in England. It would have had many cats to keep rats and mice from destroying the fishing gear.

4. When you play the "piggies" game with a baby, you say "This little piggie went to market; This little piggie stayed home; This little piggie had roast beef; This little piggie had none; And this little piggie said, 'Wee, wee, wee!' All the way home." How many little piggies do you count on the baby's foot?

Answer: five

The five piggies are the five toes on a baby's foot. The smallest piggy went "Wee-wee-wee" all the way home!

The full version of this poem was published in 1760 in "Tommy Thumb's Little Story-Book".

5. Rub-a-dub-dub, Some men in a tub, And who do you think they be? They include the butcher, and the baker, but how many men were in the tub all together? Who all put out to sea. How many were there?

Answer: three

They were the butcher, the baker, and the candle-stick maker. That makes three. Their stores would be places you would visit regularly.

6. Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John Went to bed with his stockings on; Some shoes off, and how many shoes on, Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John. How many shoes did John have "on" when he went to bed?

Answer: one

He had "one shoe off and one shoe on." He must have fallen asleep with that one shoe on. It's more comfortable to sleep without your shoes.

7. Baa baa black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, How many bags full?

Answer: three

One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy that lives down the lane.

That's three! It is suggested that this nursery rhyme may have been a complaint against the medieval English taxes on wool.

8. This time, how many were really going to St. Ives? As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with all his wives, Each wife had lots of sacks, Each sack had several cats, Each cat had some kits; Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?

Answer: one

Only "I" was going to St Ives, so that is just one.

In the Bruce Willis film "Die Hard with a Vengeance", this rhyme is presented by the villain as a riddle, giving them thirty seconds to call him at "555 - the answer" or a bomb would detonate. After several guesses, they solve the riddle and call 555-0001.

9. Old King Cole was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he; And he called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for how many of his fiddlers?

Answer: three

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
And he called for his pipe,
And he called for his bowl,
And he called for his fiddlers three.
And every fiddler had a very fine fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh, there's none so rare as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

Some say that a "pipe" is another name for a musical instrument such as a flute or a recorder, so the king may have been playing music with them. In more modern times, singer Nat "King" Cole said his nickname of "King" came from Old King Cole in this rhyme.

10. One, two, buckle my shoe, Three, four, shut the door, ... What is the last number before "A Big Fat Hen"?

Answer: ten

It is:

One, two, buckle my shoe,
Three, four, shut the door.
Five, six, pick up sticks,
Seven, eight, lay them straight.
Nine, ten, a big fat hen.

Ten rhymes with hen, and so ten was the last number mentioned.

Agatha Christie wrote a detective novel "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe". The chapters in her book each correspond to a line from the rhyme.

Source: Author Limba

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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Numbers You Know From Nursery Rhymes Quiz

See if you remember how many things appear in these nursery rhymes.

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