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Quiz about Real Stories Behind Nursery Rhymes
Quiz about Real Stories Behind Nursery Rhymes

Real Stories Behind Nursery Rhymes Quiz


Are those charming nursery rhymes we learned as kids really as innocent as they seem? Take this quiz and find out.

A multiple-choice quiz by nmerr. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
nmerr
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
339,168
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Very Easy
Avg Score
9 / 10
Plays
1717
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (10/10), Flukey (9/10), LancYorkYank (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. It all began with an egg and a riddle. This egg, which somehow fell off a wall, has been immortalized by Lewis Carroll in his book "Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass." What is the title of this nursery rhyme? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The identity of this king, the subject of a popular nursery rhyme, has been a matter of speculation for centuries. This nursery rhyme first appeared in print in 1708. Name this merry monarch who found himself in need of his pipe and fiddlers. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In days of old, English gentlemen would sometimes indulge in a popular game known as candlestick jumping. What nursery rhyme has an agile fellow named Jack jumping over a candle? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. This little girl had a fear of spiders, especially when she was chased away by one while sitting on a tuffet enjoying a bowl of curds and whey. According to several theories, this frightened girl wasn't just any little girl. Can you name this nursery rhyme? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. There is a legend that a young Pilgrim, who sailed to America on the Mayflower, wrote the words to this nursery rhyme after watching a Native American mother hang her baby's cradle from a tree, allowing the wind to gently rock it. What is the name of this nursery rhyme? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. A well-known nursery rhyme was written by Sara Josepha Hale and first published in 1830. It has something to do with a pet lamb following a girl to school. Name this nursery rhyme. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. A pair of children went up a hill to fill a bucket with water. Apparently, they must have stumbled because they fell down the hill, one after another. Sound familiar? What is the name of this rhyme? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. His name was Tom and he supposedly stole a pig. This nursery rhyme even suggested that Tom ate the pig. The first written record of this rhyme appeared in an English chapbook( a small booklet of verse) during the late 1700s. What is this nursery rhyme called? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Do you remember the nursery rhyme about a cow jumping over the moon? Hard to imagine? How about a fiddling cat? Can you mentally picture a dish running away with a spoon? Name this nursery rhyme. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. There is a nursery rhyme that some believe alludes to the Black Plague of the 14th century. Pockets full of posies and falling down...what is the name of this rhyme? Hint





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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. It all began with an egg and a riddle. This egg, which somehow fell off a wall, has been immortalized by Lewis Carroll in his book "Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass." What is the title of this nursery rhyme?

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.
2. The identity of this king, the subject of a popular nursery rhyme, has been a matter of speculation for centuries. This nursery rhyme first appeared in print in 1708. Name this merry monarch who found himself in need of his pipe and fiddlers.

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?
3. In days of old, English gentlemen would sometimes indulge in a popular game known as candlestick jumping. What nursery rhyme has an agile fellow named Jack jumping over a candle?

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.
4. This little girl had a fear of spiders, especially when she was chased away by one while sitting on a tuffet enjoying a bowl of curds and whey. According to several theories, this frightened girl wasn't just any little girl. Can you name this nursery rhyme?

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!
5. There is a legend that a young Pilgrim, who sailed to America on the Mayflower, wrote the words to this nursery rhyme after watching a Native American mother hang her baby's cradle from a tree, allowing the wind to gently rock it. What is the name of this nursery rhyme?

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!
6. A well-known nursery rhyme was written by Sara Josepha Hale and first published in 1830. It has something to do with a pet lamb following a girl to school. Name this nursery rhyme.

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.
7. A pair of children went up a hill to fill a bucket with water. Apparently, they must have stumbled because they fell down the hill, one after another. Sound familiar? What is the name of this rhyme?

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.
8. His name was Tom and he supposedly stole a pig. This nursery rhyme even suggested that Tom ate the pig. The first written record of this rhyme appeared in an English chapbook( a small booklet of verse) during the late 1700s. What is this nursery rhyme called?

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."
9. Do you remember the nursery rhyme about a cow jumping over the moon? Hard to imagine? How about a fiddling cat? Can you mentally picture a dish running away with a spoon? Name this nursery rhyme.

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!
10. There is a nursery rhyme that some believe alludes to the Black Plague of the 14th century. Pockets full of posies and falling down...what is the name of this rhyme?

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.
Source: Author nmerr

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