Mother Goose Feeds Characters and Imagination Quiz

Answer: Old Mother Hubbard

"Old Mother Hubbard" is a famous English nursery rhyme first published in 1801. Published by J. Harris of London, it is believed to have been written by Sarah Catherine Martin. Many believe the character of Mother Hubbard is based upon St. Hubert the patron saint of dogs. Others believe it is actually a political commentary, and refers to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey refusing to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon in the 16th century.

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give the poor dog a bone:
When she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread;
When she came back
The dog was dead!

She went to the undertaker's
To buy him a coffin;
When she came back
The dog was laughing.

She took a clean dish
To get him some tripe;
When she came back
He was smoking his pipe.

She went to the alehouse
To get him some beer;
When she came back
The dog sat in a chair.

She went to the tavern
For white wine and red;
When she came back
The dog stood on his head.

She went to the fruiterer's
To buy him some fruit;
When she came back
He was playing the flute.

She went to the tailor's
To buy him a coat;
When she came back
He was riding a goat.

She went to the hatter's
To buy him a hat;
When she came back
He was feeding her cat.

She went to the barber's
To buy him a wig
When she came back
He was dancing a jig.

She went to the cobbler's
To buy him some shoes;
When she came back
He was reading the news.

She went to the sempstress
To buy him some linen;
When she came back
The dog was spinning.

She went to the hosier's
To buy him some hose;
When she came back
He was dressed in his clothes.

The Dame made a curtsy,
The dog made a bow;
The Dame said, your servant;
The dog said, Bow-wow.

This wonderful dog
Was Dame Hubbard's delight,
He could read, he could dance,
He could sing, he could write;
She gave him rich dainties
Whenever he fed,
And erected this monument
When he was dead.

Answer: The Queen of England

"Pussycat Pussycat" is a nursery rhyme that goes back to 16th Century England. At Windsor Castle one of the ladies in waiting to Queen Elizabeth I owned a cat that roamed freely through the halls. One day the cat ran under the throne brushing up against the queen's foot. The queen, although at first startled, decreed that the cat could roam freely providing it kept the hall free of mice.

"Pussycat pussycat, where have you been?"
"I've been up to London to visit the Queen."
"Pussycat pussycat, what did you there?"
"I chase a little mouse right under her chair."

Answer: Plum

The nursery rhyme "Little Jack Horner" has likely been around since the 16th century in various forms. "Namby Pamby," a folk song by Henry Carey that was first published in 1725 contains one of the earliest written references to the nursery rhyme. One popular story suggests the rhyme refers to a 16th Century steward by the name of Thomas Horner. He worked for Richard Whiting who was the last Abbot of Glastonbury at the time when King Henry VIII was dissolving the monasteries. A story tells how the abbot sent Thomas to London with deeds of a dozen manors hidden within a Christmas pie. Horner is believed to have extracted the deed of Mells Manor in Somerset which also included rights to lead mines in the Mendip hills. The plum in the pie is a pun on plumbum which is Latin for lead.

Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating a Christmas pie;
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said 'What a good boy am I!'

Answer: Little Miss Muffet

"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme that was first published back in 1805 in "Songs for the Nursery". The origin of the song could be with 17th Century entomologist Dr. Thomas Muffet and his daughter Patience. Other unsubstantiated accounts suggest Little Miss Muffet refers to Mary Queen of Scots who was a little fearful of religious reformer, John Knox.

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away!

Answer: Blackbirds

The English nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" has been attributed to George Steevens in 1790 but actually first appears in print in 1744 within "Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book." Some sources believe the rhyme is based on folk symbols such as the sun (king), the moon (queen), and 24 hours in the day (blackbirds). Others believe the blackbirds refer to monks during the 16th century period during which Henry VIII dissolves the monasteries in England. Catherine of Aragon represents the queen, Anne Boleyn the maid, and Henry VIII the King of England.

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;
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.

Answer: Pie

"Simple Simon" was first published in 1764. However, the character of Simon also appears in an Elizabethan chapbook from 1685 -- "Simple Simon's Misfortunes and his Wife Margery's Cruelty."

Simple Simon met a pieman,
Going to the fair;
Says Simple Simon to the pieman,
Let me taste your ware.

Says the pieman to Simple Simon,
Show me first your penny;
Says Simple Simon to the pieman,
Indeed I have not any.

Simple Simon went a-fishing,
For to catch a whale;
All the water he had got,
Was in his mother's pail.

Simple Simon went to look
If plums grew on a thistle;
He pricked his fingers very much,
Which made poor Simon whistle.

Answer: The Cat

The nursery rhyme "Jack Sprat" began as a proverb appearing in John Clarke's 1639 collection of sayings. In 1765 the rhyme was published in "Mother Goose's Melody," which made it instantly popular among children. Two explanations exist on the meaning of the nursery rhyme. The first is a metaphor for Jack Sprat as King Charles I and his wife Queen Henrietta Maria. King Charles declared war on Spain but parliament refused to finance the war. The queen then imposed an illegal war tax after the angry King dissolved parliament. Another historical allusion to Jack Sprat was King John in the 12th Century who experienced a significant lean period after paying a hefty ransom to free his brother Richard the Lionheart from the capture of Duke Leopold.

Jack Sprat could eat no fat
His wife could eat no lean
And so betwixt the two of them
They licked the platter clean

Jack ate all the lean,
Joan ate all the fat.
The bone they picked it clean,
Then gave it to the cat

Jack Sprat was wheeling,
His wife by the ditch.
The barrow turned over,
And in she did pitch.

Says Jack, "She'll be drowned!"
But Joan did reply,
"I don't think I shall,
For the ditch is quite dry."

Answer: Pease Pudding

The origin of "Pease Pudding" is largely unknown. The pudding was a porridge-like dish made from peas and popular among the lower classes in 15th and 16th century England. One of the earliest appearances of the nursery rhyme is in John Newbery's "Mother Goose's Melody" in 1760. Occasionally the word "pudding" is interchanged with the word "porridge."

Pease pudding hot,
Pease pudding cold,
Pease pudding in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot,
Some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old.

Answer: Sukey

"Polly put the kettle on" is given mention in Charles Dickens' "Barnaby Rudge" (1841). However, its first publication was a few years earlier in 1803 by Joseph Dale in London. In Dublin the rhyme was published with a "Molly" rather than a "Polly." The tune for the rhyme has been around since 1770 and is very similar to "Oh du Lieber Augustin."

Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
They've all gone away.

Answer: Pumpkin

Pumpkins being a very popular American vegetable, it is no wonder that the first publication of this nursery rhyme is in Boston around 1825. Published in "Mother Goose's Quarto", "Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater" was popular among children. History suggests that the rhyme might be a variation of a Scottish rhyme, "Eeper Weeper".

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had another and didn't love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well.