And please will you tell me, Little Black Hen, What did they want, Those five big men?” The Little Black Hen She said to me: “They want me to lay them An egg for tea. If they were Emperors, If they were Kings. I’m much too busy To lay them things.” “I’m not a King And I haven’t a crown; I climb up trees, And I tumble down. I can shut one eye, I can count to ten, So lay me an egg, please, Little Black Hen.” The Little Black Hen said, “What will you pay, If I lay you an egg For Easter Day?” “I’ll give you a Please And a How-do-you-do, I’ll show you the Bear Who lives in the Zoo, I’ll show you the nettle-place On my leg, If you’ll lay me a great big Eastery egg.” The Little Black Hen Said “I don’t care For a How-do-you-do Or a Big-brown-bear, But I’ll lay you a beautiful Eastery egg, If you’ll show me the nettle-place On your leg.” I showed her the place Where I had my sting. She touched it gently With one black wing. “Nettles don’t hurt If you count to ten. And now for the egg,” Said the Little Black Hen. When I wake up On Easter Day, I shall see my egg She’s promised to lay. If I were Emperors, If I were Kings, It couldn’t be fuller Of wonderful things. Berryman and Baxter, Prettiboy and Penn, And Old Farmer Middleton Are five big men. All of them are wanting An egg for their tea, But the Little Black Hen is much too busy, The Little Black Hen is much too busy, The Little Black Hen is MUCH too busy… She’s laying my egg for me!
The Friend
There are lots and lots of people who are always asking things, Like Dates and Pounds-and-ounces and the names of funny Kings, And the answer’s either Sixpence or A Hundred Inches Long, And I know they’ll think me silly if I get the answer wrong. So Pooh and I go whispering, and Pooh looks very bright, And says, “Well, I say sixpence, but I don’t suppose I’m right.” And then it doesn’t matter what the answer ought to be, ’Cos if he’s right, I’m Right, and if he’s wrong, it isn’t Me.
The Good Little Girl
It’s funny how often they say to me, “Jane? “Have you been a good girl?”
