鹅妈妈童谣的创作方法是其他国家传到英国的。 当中包含的民间故事在 1697 年被叫做“母亲鹅的故事”, 且出现在短的吹牛大话或故事中。 这些故事在 1729 年被转变为英国语。但是在那之后不久, 当约翰（可以称得上是鹅妈妈童谣的创作人）      和他的公司已经发现出版这种书是有利润的时候,他们决定出版收录这些传统诗的书。 他们给鹅妈妈童谣的曲子起一些适当而又无意义的名字。 这个 1791年的Newbery（约翰的姓） 版本是最早的《鹅妈妈童谣》，也是世界最早的儿歌集。它包含了五十二首诗,每首诗由一个有趣但是又不恰当的故事组成, 和每首以一个例子说明。

知名的「玛丽有一只小羊」、「伦敦铁桥倒下来」等童谣，就是所谓的鹅妈妈童谣。鹅妈妈童谣随著时间经过，内容不断扩大，包涵数百首童谣。童谣中又包含许多血腥、残酷的句子，这主要是由于鹅妈妈童谣当时黑暗的时代背景。

Sing A Song of Sixpence

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;
Was not 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 parlor,
Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
When down came a blackbird
And snapped off her nose.

唱一首六便士之歌

唱一首六便士之歌，
袋子里装满黑麦；
二十四只黑画眉，
被放在派里面烤！

当派被剥开，
画眉开始唱歌；
那可不是放在国王桌前，
十分可口的一餐吗？

国王在帐房数钱；
王后在客厅吃面包蜂蜜。
女仆在花园晒衣；
一只黑画眉飞来，
啄走了她的鼻子。

There was a lady all skin and bone,
Sure such a lady was never known:
It happened upon a certain day,
This lady went to church to pray.
When she came to the church stile,
There she did rest a little while;
When she came to the church yard,
There the hells so loud she heard.
When she came to the church door,
She stopped to rest a little more;
When she came the church within,
The parson prayed 'gainst pride and sin.
On looking up, on looking down,
She saw a dead man on the ground;
And from his nose unto his chin,
The worms crawled out,
the worms crawled in.
Then she unto the parson said,
Shall I be so when I am dead?
O yes! O yes, the parson said,
You will be so when you are dead.

从前有个皮包骨头的女人，
当然你从没听说过这样的女人：
一切发生在某{yt}，
这位女士去教堂作祷告。

当她来到教堂阶梯，
她停下来作了个小小的休息；
当她来到教堂墓园，
她听见地狱的xx声是如此响亮。

当她来到教堂的门口，
她停下来又作了个小小的休息；
当她进入教堂，
牧师正抗拒着虚荣与罪恶作着祷告

上看，下看，
她看见地上躺着一个死人；
从他的鼻子到下巴，
蛆们爬出，
蛆们蠕进。

然后她对牧师说，
我死后会变成这样吗？
噢，是的！
噢，是的，牧师说道，
你死后就会变成这样。

There was a man, a very untidy man,
Whose fingers could nowhere be found
to put in his tomb.
He had rolled his head far underneath the bed;
He had left legs and arms lying
all over the room.

死了一个男子

死了一个男子，
一个没出息的男子，
懒得动手把他埋在坟墓里。
头滚落在床下，
四肢散乱的在房间里

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horse And all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again

蛋在断崖之上孵着—
孵着孵着掉下来了,
就算聚集了国王所有的马,
就算聚集了国王所有的臣子,
蛋也不能再恢复原来的样子…

Lizzie Borden took an axe,
Hit her father forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She hit her mother forty-one.

丽兹玻顿拿起斧头

丽兹玻顿拿起斧头，
砍了爸爸四十下。
当她意识到她做了甚麼，
她砍她妈妈四十一下。

My mother has killed me,
My father is eating me,
My brothers and sisters sit under the table,
Picking up my bones,
And they bury them
under the cold marble stones.

妈妈杀了我

妈妈杀了我，
爸爸吃了我，
兄弟姐妹坐在餐桌底下，
拣起我的骨头，
埋在冰冷的石墓里。

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool ?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

黑羊

咩——咩——
黑羊啊黑羊，你身上可有羊毛？
有啊，有啊，有三袋，
一袋给主人用，一袋给夫人用，
{zh1}一袋，给在路边哭泣的小少爷

He was a goodly king;
He stole three pecks of barley meal
To make a bag-pudding.
A bag-pudding the king did make,
And stuffed it well with plums,
And in it put great lumps of fat
As big as my two thumbs.
The king and queen did eat thereof,
And noblemen beside,
And what they could not eat that night
The queen next morning fried.

当亚瑟王治理这片土地的时候

他是一位伟大的王
他偷了三袋麦片
为了做一个大布丁

这个王做的布丁
放进许多葡萄干
还放进了一块xx油
就像我的两个拇指那么大

国王和皇后吃了布丁
身边的贵族们也吃了
那天晚上他们什么也没吃
第二天早上皇后被油煎了

There was a crooked man,

and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat,

which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house

一个扭曲的男人

一个扭曲的男人，走了一哩扭曲的路。
手拿扭曲的六便士，踏上扭曲的台阶，
买一只歪歪扭扭的猫儿，猫儿抓歪歪扭扭的老鼠。
他们一起住歪歪扭扭的小屋。

.

What are little boys made of ？
Frogs and snails　
And puppy-dogs' tails

What are little girls made of ?　
Suger and spice　　
And all that's nice

小男孩是由什么做的

小男孩是由什么做的？  
青蛙和蜗牛  
还有小狗的尾巴　  
小女孩是由什么做的？  
糖和香料  
都是那么的美好呀　

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

小玛菲特小姐  

小玛菲特小姐  
坐在土堆上  
吃着乳凝和乳清  
来了一只大蜘蛛  
坐在她旁边  
吓跑了玛菲特小姐

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

乔治 珀治  

乔治 珀治  
布丁和派  
亲吻女孩惹她们哭  
男孩们来了  
乔治?珀治就跑了

Who killed Cock Robin?
I, said the Sparrow,　　
With my bow and arrow,　　
I killed Cock Robin.　　
Who saw him die? 　　
I, said the Fly.　　
With my little eye,　　
I saw him die.　　
Who caught his blood?　　
I, said the Fish, 　　
With my little dish,　　
I caught his blood.　　
Who'll make his shroud?　　
I , said the Beetle,
With my thread and needle,　　
I'll make the shroud. 　　
Who'll dig his grave?　　
I, said the Owl,　　
With my pick and shovel,　　
I'll dig his grave.　　
Who'll be the person?　　
I, said the Rook,　　
With my little book,　　
I'll be the parson.　　
Who'll be the clerk?　　
I, said the Lark,　　
If it's not in the dark,　　
I'll be the clerk.　　
Who'll carry the link?　　
I, said the Linnet, 　　
I'll fetch it in a minute,　　
I'll carry the link.　　
Who'll be chief mourner?　　
I, said the Dove,　
I mourn for my love, 　　
I'll be chief mourner.　　
Who'll carry the coffin?　　
I, said the Kite,　　
If it's not through the night, 　　
I'll carry the coffin.　　
Who'll bear the pall? 　　
We, said the Wren,　　
Both the cock and the hen,　　
We'll bear the pall.　　
Who'll sing a psalm?　　
I, said the Thrush,　　
As she sat on a bush,　　
I'll sing a psalm. 　　
Who'll toll the bell?　　
I, said the Bull,　　
Because I can pull,　　
So Cock Robin, farewell.　　
All the birds of the air 　　
Fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,　　
When they heard the bell toll　　
For poor Cock Robin.　　
NOTICE：l it concerns,
This notice apprises,　　
The Sparrow's for trial,　　
At next bird assiz

是谁杀了知更鸟

是谁杀了知更鸟？
麻雀说，是我，
用我的弓和箭，
我杀了知更鸟。
谁看见他死去？
苍蝇说，是我，
用我的小眼睛，
我看见他死去。
谁拿走他的血？
鱼说，是我，
用我的小碟子，
我拿走他的血。
谁为他做寿衣？
甲虫说，是我，
用我的针和线，
我会来做寿衣。
谁要挖坟墓？
猫头鹰说，是我，
用我的凿子铲子，
我会来挖坟墓。
谁要当牧师？
白嘴鸦说，是我，
用我的小本子，
我会来做牧师。
谁要当办事员？
云雀说，是我，
只要不在夜晚，
我就当办事员。
谁会带火炬？
红雀说，是我，
我立刻把它拿来。
我将会带火炬。
谁要当主祭？
鸽子说，是我，
我要哀悼我的爱，
我将会当主祭。
谁要抬棺？
鸢说，是我，
如果不走夜路，
我就会来抬棺。
谁提供柩布？
鹪鹩，与公鸡和母鸡说，是我们，
我们将提供柩布。
谁来唱赞美诗？
站在灌木丛上，画眉说，是我，
我将唱赞美诗。
谁来敲丧钟？
牛说，是我，
因为我能拉犁。
所以再会，知更鸟。
空中所有的鸟，
全都叹息哭泣，
当他们听见丧钟，
为可怜的知更鸟响起。
启事：通告所有关系人，
这则启事通知，
下回鸟儿法庭，将要审判麻雀

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
This is the end
Of Solomon Grundy.

所罗门．格兰蒂  

所罗门．格兰蒂  
月曜曰 出生  
火曜曰 受洗礼  
水曜曰 结婚  
木曜曰 得病  
金曜曰 病加重  
土曜曰 死去  
曰曜曰 被埋在土里  
这就是所罗门．格兰蒂的一生　

——THE      END——

and that's all......