The Three Little Kittens
(A Cat's Tale, with Additions)
The Three Little Kittens
(A Cat's Tale, with Additions)
Nursery Song
Three little kittens lost their mittens;
And they began to cry,
O mother dear,
We very much fear
That we have lost our mittens.
Lost your mittens!
You naughty kittens
Then you shall have no pie
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
No, you shall have no pie
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
The three little kittens found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
O mother dear,
See here, see here;
See, we have found our mittens.
Put on your mittens,
You silly kittens,
And you may have some pie
Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r,
O, let us have the pie,
Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r.
The three little kittens put on their mittens,
And soon ate up the pie;
O mother dear,
We greatly fear
That we have soil'd our mittens.
Soiled your mittens!
You naughty kittens!
Then they began to sigh,
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
Then they began to sigh,
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
The three little kittens washed their mittens,
And hung them out to dry;
O mother dear,
Do not you hear,
That we have washed our mittens?
Washed your mittens!
O, you're good kittens.
But I smell a rat close by:
Hush! hush! mee-ow, mee-ow.
We smell a rat close by,
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
 - English Children's Songs - England - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World
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Notes
This is thought to be written by Eliza Lee Follen, since it was printed in her book called New Nursery Songs for All Good Children. Although Follen called it traditional.
Comments
Here's a version from The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith (this is the version in the 2nd recording):
Three little kittens they lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
"Oh! mammy dear,
We sadly fear,
Our mittens we have lost!"
"What! lost your mittens,
You naughty kittens,
Then you shall have no pie."
Miew, miew, miew, miew,
Miew, miew, miew, miew.
The three little kittens they found their mittens,
And they began to cry.
"Oh! mammy dear,
See here, see here,
Our mittens we have found."
"What! found your mittens,
You little kittens,
Then you shall have some pie."
Purr, purr, purr, purr,
Purr, purr, purr, purr.
The three little kittens put on their mittens,
And soon ate up the pie;
"Oh! mammy dear,
We greatly fear,
Our mittens we have soil'd."
"What! soil'd your mittens,
You naughty kittens!"
Then they began to sigh,
Miew, miew, miew, miew,
Miew, miew, miew, miew.
The three little kittens they washed their mittens,
And hung them up to dry;
"Oh! mammy dear,
Look here, look here,
Our mittens we have wash'd."
"What! wash'd your mittens,
You darling kittens!
But I smell a rat close by!
Hush! hush!" Miew, miew,
Miew, miew, miew, miew.
The 2nd recording is of the version in the Comments section...
2nd mp3 performed by 17 talented university student musicians at California State University-Stanislaus in 2007. The musical score the recording is based on comes from Our Old Nursery Rhymes (1911) arranged by Alfred Moffat.
The lyrics for the 3rd recording are as follows:
Narrator:
Three little kittens they lost their mittens
And they began to cry;
Kittens:
"Oh mother dear, see here see here
Our mittens we have lost"
Mother Cat:
What lost your mittens you naughty kittens
Now, you shall have no pie!
Kittens:
Meow, meow, we shall have no pie!
But.....
Narrator:
The three little kittens they found their mittens
They began to cry
Kittens:
"Oh mother dear, see here see here our mittens we have FOUND!"
Mother Cat:
What! Found your mittens you good little kittens, now you shall have some pie!
Kittens:
Meow, meow, we shall have some pie!
3rd recording by Rhianna Barr-Beaumont. You can hear more of Rhianna's singing on her YouTube Channel.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Illustration by H. Willebeck Le Mair from Our Old Nursery Rhymes (1911), arranged by Alfred Moffat.
