Seen Around Mother Goose Land Quiz / Test | Kid Lit General

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This is a lovely flowery rhyme The children sing and all keep time As they dance, go round and round What's this? They all end up upon the ground! This rhyme was first printed in 1881, in "Mother Goose, or the Old Nursery Rhymes", Kate Greenaway. Can you name this rhyme?

Answer: Ring A-round the Roses

Many nursery rhymes have different versions, depending on the place you live.
Here are three slightly different versions:

UK Version:
"Ring a-round the roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down!"

The American version is:
"Ring a-round the roses,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down!"

And in my little corner of the world, it went like this:
"Ring a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
One, Two, Three,
We all fall down!"

2. This gardener can be naughty and sly, She grows flowers, lays shells, we wonder why, And so we question and want to know, What is she growing, row on row? And what is her name?

Answer: Mary Mary Quite Contrary

"Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row."

This poem is generally thought to be about Queen Mary I of England - a brutal leader. This rhyme is not as innocent as it seems. The flowers and maids mentioned are actually examples (in disguise) of Mary's cruelty, well known
to the people of her reign (1553-58).

3. This child had something that he loved so, He loaned it out, then wished he'd said no, He would not loan it again for hire, Because mistreatment aroused his ire. This rhyme is about what?

Answer: I Had A Little Pony

"I had a little pony,
His name was Dapple Gray,
I loaned him to a lady
To ride a mile away

She whipped him, she lashed him,
She rode him through the mire;
I would not loan my pony now
For all the lady's hire."

The origin of this rhyme seems to be lost, but it was one of my childhood favorites, and still is. I saw it then and now as the condemnation of cruelty to animals. ("Childcaft", vol 1, 1939.)

4. Three little animals could not see, So they chased the woman they blamed for the deed. But she got even and wasn't sad, She got out her knife and made them feel bad. Which rhyme tells the story of these animals?

Answer: Three Blind Mice

"Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
She cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
As three blind mice?"

Again we meet our old friend(?) Queen Mary I of England. This is another rhyme
about her persecution of her enemies. She was Catholic, and three prominent Protestant noblemen plotted against her. The fate they met wasn't that described in the rhyme, but it was very bad.

5. This bad boy wouldn't lie down Though ready for bed, he ran around town. Bothering the neighbors, you might say Just trying to get the children to hit the hay. Who is he?

Answer: Wee Willie Winkie

"Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown,
Tapping at the window and crying at the lock,
Are all the children in their beds, it's past eight o'clock?"

Willy seems to serve as a town crier as well as a reminder of the curfew. A town crier passed on the news at a time when there was no other way to do so. The curfew was a law in many places saying that no one could be out and about after 8 p.m.

6. There was a little boy who loved to eat pie, When he played with girls, he'd kiss and they'd cry, But when with boys he tried to play, He's the one who ran away. What is his name?

Answer: Georgie Porgie

"Georgie Porgie pudding and pie
Kissed the girls and made them cry,
When the boys came out to play,
Georgie Porgie ran away."

A member of the English Court, was the naughty George Villiers, who became a favorite of King James I and his son, King Charles I. His charming appeal was attractive to both the lords and ladies of the court. That made him unpopular with lesser courtiers and commoners, and they created this derogatory rhyme about him.

7. A boy worked for a farmer all day He watched the animals so they wouldn't stray But one afternoon he couldn't be found Where was that boy who had gone to ground? And what is his rhyme?

Answer: Little Boy Blue

In England, in days before fences or hedges to separate land, children were sometimes used to watch the farm animals so they wouldn't wander off. And sometimes the child's attention wasn't the best - then as now.

"Little Boy Blue come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
But where's the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under a haystack fast asleep.
Will you wake him? No, not I - for if I do, he's sure to cry."

8. "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet Eating her curds and whey Along came a spider And sat down beside her And frightened Miss Muffet away!" In this rhyme, what are curds and whey?

Answer: A dish similar to cottage cheese

This dish sounds very yucky - it's made by adding vinegar to warm milk. It forms curds (milk solids) which separate from the whey (liquid). One reason I can't stand milk is that I remember my old Finnish grandmother leaving pans of milk out to curdle, to be used in cooking (like making cakes). Ugh!

9. "Peter Peter pumpkin eater, Had a wife and couldn't keep her! He put her in a pumpkin shell, And there he kept her very well!" Where do you think this version of the rhyme originated (given the fruit mentioned)?

Answer: America

In this form, it must be America, for pumpkins are native to North America. It was first published in Boston in 1825. It seems, though, that it is an offshoot of an older rhyme from England:

"Eeper weeper chimbly sweeper,
Had a wife but couldn't keep her,
Had another, didn't love her,
Up the chimbly he did shove her."

10. "Little Tommy Tucker sings for his supper, What shall we give him? Brown bread and butter. How shall he cut it without a knife? How shall he marry without a wife?" Reading the rhyme, what kind of family do you think Tommy had?

Answer: He was an orphan

Little Tommy Tucker was an orphan. Long ago, orphans often had to beg at people's doors for something to eat, then they would probably just get the poorest food. They had no prospects for a better life, therefore it was hard to get someone to marry them. So, "How shall he marry without a wife"?

Source: Author mpkitty

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Seen Around Mother Goose Land Trivia Quiz

Mother Goose - was she a witch? Some think so, but in our world she is a beloved character. Here are some examples of her best work. While reading the rhymes, remember that many were in reference to historical and political events of the day.

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