I have often wondered why many nursery rhymes speak about bad things and mishaps.
Take a read of two of the popular ones below.
“Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after.”
Internet sources noted that the rhyme’s earliest version, which originally spelled Jill as Gill, was in a reprint of John Newbery‘s Mother Goose’s Melody, said to have been first published in London around 1765.
Among the Juvenile Songs that Fanny E. Lacy rewrote and set to music in 1852 was a six-stanza version of Jack and Jill that spoke of the duo’s climb and fall from the hill and to a warning against social climbing: “By this we see that folks should be contented with their station; and never try to look so high above their situation.”
To introduce a three-chapter Jack and Jill, For Old and Young published in Philadelphia in 1873, Lawrence Augustus Gobright claimed that the two-stanza version of the original nursery rhyme was, in earlier editions, followed by two more: Little Jane ran up the lane to hang her clothes a-drying. She called for Nell to ring the bell, for Jack and Jill were dying. Nimble Dick ran up so quick, he tumbled over a timber. And bent his bow to shoot a crow, and killed a cat in the window.
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.”
Sources from the worldwide web noted that “Humpty Dumpty,” a famous egg in an English nursery rhyme that dates back to the early 19th century, was originally thought to be a riddle when it was found in a manuscript of Mother Goose’s Melody in 1803. The riddle was first published in Gammer Gurton’s Garland in 1810.
From then on, Humpty Dumpty also appeared in literature and other works of popular culture such as Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum, The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin, and the Jasper Fforde’s novels The Well of Lost Plots and The Big Over Easy.
In the 17th century, humpty dumpty was used as slang to describe a dull, clumsy and careless person.
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Since it is the season of Fall, London Bridge may be a plus to the list of ‘tragic’ nursery rhymes.
While in the water, engage Baby Shark and family in a choral do-do-do-do-do-do and imagine the ever after.
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Covid-19 is in the House and daily, it is being ushered out!
Seriously, are there are more than three blind mice in the zone?
No more monkeys jumping on the bed, I bet.
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Elephant trumpets “Hump T,” Donkey brays “Dump T.”
There is a hilltop climb and a rough descent. Uh, oh! What crown, corona in translation, was broken?
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So, are we still okay with children learning to recite and sing nursery rhymes?
Questions: Has the pandemic fatigue set in on us? Are we, as adults, really at a loss on how to face and fix the mess in our midst; and ease, say finally dismiss, its impact on how we live? Have we been thinking too much so as to interpret nursery rhymes beyond kinder innocence?
While processing for answers, it may favour humanity if we refrain from unleashing indifference, selfishness and recklessness. These behaviours do not aid in stopping the infectious spread of the Coronavirus.
Let us get rid of the devil that re-spins and twists the answers as soon as we ask the right questions.
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Remember mo pa ba ang isa sa mga favourite game ng mga paslit many many years ago – ang walang-kamatayang “Penpen de sarapen?” For old time’s sake, halika’t sumabay sa chorus.
“Penpen de sarapen, de kutsilyo de almasen. Hawhaw de karabaw, batuten. Sipit namimilipit, ginto’t pilak namumulaklak sa tabi ng dagat. Sayang pula, tatlong pera; sayang puti, tatlong salapi. Kalesa, kalesa, ilan ang sakay mo?”
Hay, naku! Pagod na ako sa kata-tumbling. Hilo na rin ako sa kaka-translate ng Tagalog, Ispanyol, Inglis at mga lenguwahe ng mga lasenggo sa kanto, dehins ko pa rin ma-gets kung what the whole thing meant.
Ikaw kaya? Try mong pasakitin ang ulo mo. If ever, go ka lang sa Botika sa Baryo o kay Mang Kepweng at ask mo kung they still have Cortal.
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Bahala na si Batman but I still believe that Toronto officials and authorities will never allow a few rude arrogant mammals to disrespect science-based best practices against Covid-19, threaten public health and walk away from the law with nary a dent.
They will not be mocked by the unscrupulous that drool on an illusion of superiority and invincibility.
Para sa mga nagbabalak tularan si Superman: What are you, kino-komiks?
Ang nakakapikon lang, maraming alagad ng kabutihan at kaligtasan ang nadadamay.
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Politics down south is interesting.
The Jon-Doe face-off was a debacle, not a debate. Be glad the hullabaloo is over.
The veep beeps were more civil and discerning in a town hall meet. However, exchanges were not bereft of unanswered questions and of misleading, if not totally false, assertions and rebuttals.
A third virtual blah-blah would never recoup the staggering losses. All talk no walk is futile exercise. Every one may now take off the masks and heave a temporary sigh of relief.
Your prediction — on who will rise in the fall vote a few days hence — is as good as mine.
Remember, however, to keep Nostradamus out of the equation.
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What happened on Thanksgiving Day 2020?
The restricted celebration was so bubbly.
Cork flew off the empty champagne bottle.
Quail eggs on adobo, the turkey won the battle.
At the high balcony was the Pope
Mumbling gratitude for world love and hope.
No one chewed the soap.
Cooped up, the family would cope.
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Now, I am petrified to know what is with Halloween:
Spider web, red-eyed bat, full moon, ghost and goblin,
Haunted house, broom and witch, carved pumpkin,
Goose bumps, candle scent, eerie darkness, silver coffin,
Silent graveyard, wolf howl and Freddie Kreuger.
Be masked outdoors, be far apart when you gather.
In Covid-19’s wake, staying home is safer.
Rooting for The Addams Family and Casper!
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Impong Tasyo: Tutuo ba na ang masamang damo, matagal mamatay?
Lolo Panyong: Mabait si Lord. Bibiyayaan Niya ng second chance ang mga bad para magsisi at mag-sorry.
Ka Betong: Then immediately after the apology, susundo si Grin Ripper, ‘yung namumunit ng ngiting aso.
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The Grim Reaper is serious. It is not a joke. Its work is no stand-up comedy matter.
Out of curiosity, I asked a hyena about the Grim Reaper. It just laughed at me.
So, why is the Grim Reaper feared and disliked? Here are rib-tickling responses I got.
- It does not wear a mask, lest it becomes aesthetically acceptable.
- It never stays home. It keeps going around, sometimes in dangerously infectious waves.
- It does not practice social distancing. Its favourite tune is Close To You.
- It controls your “need-to-go” time. No relief, buddy. A pee for an excuse does not count.
- It stays invisible, even when probed in a microscope. No one knows when it takes the breath away.
- Seriously, does it really resemble the scary character in a Hollywood Halloween flick?
- It never delivers toilet paper. Fear creeps in at the sight of empty shelves.
- Its old rusty scythe is unsafe and unhealthy for opening stashed cans of sardines and meat loaf.
Incidentally, a few of the jokers who proffered answers suffered heartburn, perhaps because they ate too much. Some had a headache, reasoning that it was so hard and stressful to prick into and juggle the brain. Others just got sick and tired of being dumb and dumber.
Most, if not all, of the allegations above have not been proven in court.
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Autumn has begun. So did Canada’s flu season.
I hate talking about nasty stuff so I will not inform you that the flu is a serious illness spurred by a virus.
Ergo, tie a string around the index finger. As soon as the needles are ready, take the flu shot!
Besides the tickling ant bite and the cotton ball cover-up, medics suggest washing hands often, covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing, avoiding touching the face, practicing personal and home hygiene and staying home when sick.
Am I crazy or having a nightmare? I have been hearing about those suggestions lately, haven’t I?
Whatever, keep safe and stay healthy.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! #####