Ding dong bell,
The cat is in the well.
Who put her in?
Little Johnny Green.
What a naughty boy was that,
To drown poor Pussy cat.
Who never did any harm,
And kill'd the mice in his father's barn.
Notes
Composition date is unknown - the above date represents the first publication date.
The lyrical form of this poem is couplets.
1."Nursery rhyme reformers have recently taken
particular objection to `Ding, dong, bell', claiming that
children have been known to throw cats
into ponds through the direct influence of this
rhyme." The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed. Iona and
Peter Opie (1951\; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), no. 134, p. 149.Perhaps the standard version today, rendered by the Opies
as follows, mitigates the crime by adding a rescuer:
Ding, dong, bell,
Pussy's in the well.
Who put her in?
Little Johnny Green.
Who pulled her out?
Little Tommy Stout.
What a naughty boy was that,
To try to drown poor pussy cat,
Who never did him any harm,
And killed the mice in his father's barn.
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Comments
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Interesting to know the origin of the rhyme I'm used to
I'm used to the second version. Another great nursery rhyme for children.
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