Simple Simon
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 a-hunting
For to catch a hare;
He rode a goat about the streets,
But couldn’t find one there.
He went to catch a dickey bird,
And thought he could not fail,
Because he’d got a little salt
To put upon its tail.
He went to shoot a wild duck,
But wild duck flew away;
Says Simon, I can’t hit him
Because he will not stay.
He went to ride a spotted cow,
That had a little calf;
She threw him down upon the ground,
Which made the people laugh.
Once Simon made a great snowball
And brought it in to roast;
He laid it down before the fire
And soon the ball was lost.
He went to try if cherries ripe
Did grow upon a thistle;
He pricked his finger very much,
Which made poor Simon whistle.
He went for water in a sieve,
But soon it all ran through;
And now poor Simple Simon
Bids you all adieu.