I had a little hen, the prettiest ever seen,
She washed me the dishes and kept the house clean;
She went to the mill to fetch me some flour,
She brought it home in less than an hour;
She baked me my bread, she brewed me my ale,
She sat by the fire and told many a fine tale.
Notes
There's another version of this rhyme that substitutes wife for hen:
I Had a Little Wife, The Prettiest Ever Seen
I had a little wife, the prettiest ever seen,
She wash'd all the dishes and kept the house clean;
She went to the mill to fetch me some flour,
She brought it home safe in less than half an hour;
She baked me my bread, she brew'd me my ale,
She sat by the fire and told a fine tale.
The version above can be found in Harry's Ladder to Learning (1850).
Photos & Illustrations
Comments
This rhyme and 1st illustration can be found in The Real Mother Goose (1916), illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright. The 2nd illustration comes from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897). The "wife" version of the rhyme can be found in Traditional Nursery Songs of England with Pictures by Eminent Modern Artists edited by Felix Summerly (1843).
