Hickety, pickety, my black hen,
She lays eggs for gentlemen;
Gentlemen come every day
To see what my black hen doth lay,
Sometimes nine and sometimes ten,
Hickety, pickety, my black hen.
Notes
Here's a slightly different version from The Little Mother Goose (1912):
Hickety, pickety, my black hen,
She lays good eggs for gentlemen;
Gentlemen come every day,
To see what my black hen doth lay.
Denslow's Mother Goose (published in 1901, in New York) has this rhyme a little differently:
Higglepy, Piggleby, My black hen,
She lays eggs For gentlemen;
Sometimes nine, And sometimes ten,
Higglepy, Piggleby, My black hen!
***
Here's a version from Jessie Prince:
Higglety Pigglety my black hen
She lays eggs for gentlemen
Sometimes nine, sometimes ten
Higglety Pigglety my black hen
I have no idea of the origins of this rhyme but apparently had it down word perfect as a 3 year old. I still love black hens to this day! -Jessie
*****
Some versions have the first and last lines as, "Higgley Piggley, My black hen!"
Photos & Illustrations
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Thanks to Jessie Prince for contributing this rhyme!
The 1st illustration comes from Little Bo-Peep, A Nursery Rhyme Picture Book illustrated by Leslie Brooke (1862 - 1940) and published around 1922. The 2nd illustration comes from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897). The 3rd illustration is from The Real Mother Goose (1916), illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright. The 4th illustration is from The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith.
