Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And doesn't know where to find them.
Leave them alone,
And they'll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.
Little Bo Peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating.
But when she awoke,
She found it a joke
For they were still all fleeting.
Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them.
She found them indeed,
But it made her heart bleed,
For they'd left all their tails behind them!
It happened one day, as Bo-Peep did stray
Into a meadow nearby.
There she espied,
Their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.
She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks went rambling.
And tried as she could,
As a shepherdess should
To tack each again to its lambkin.
Notes
Here's an alternate version of the last verse from The Real Mother Goose (1916), illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright:
She heaved a sigh and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks she raced;
And tried what she could,
as a shepherdess should,
That each tail should be properly placed.
Below is a slightly different version from The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith:
Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can't tell where to find them;
Let them alone, and they'll come home,
And bring their tails behind them.
Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep
And dreamt she heard them bleating:
But when she awoke she found it a joke,
For still they all were fleeting.
Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them;
She found 'em indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they'd left their tails behind 'em.
It happened one day, as Bo-Peep did stray
Unto a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails, side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.
Photos & Illustrations
Thanks and Acknowledgements
The illustration at the top of the page comes from Kate Greenaway's Mother Goose (1881). The second image is from "A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes" by Mary J. Newill (Methuen and Co. 1895).
The 3rd illustration is from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897). The 4th image is from The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. The score and tune are from The Baby's Opera by Walter Crane. 5th illustration is by H. Willebeck Le Mair from Our Old Nursery Rhymes (1911), arranged by Alfred Moffat. The 6th illustration is from "The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 5" (1873) by Making of America Project.
1st mp3 sung by Ruth Golding and 3rd mp3 read by Allyson Hester of Athens, Georgia.
2nd recording from Librivox's "Mother Goose's Party".
