When you say this rhyme you're supposed to imitate a rooster and a hen. You're supposed to speak very quickly until the end of each verse where you scream!
"Cock, cock, cock, cock,
I've laid an egg,
Am I to go ba-are-foot?"
"Hen, hen, hen, hen,
I've been up and down
To every shop in town,
And cannot find a shoe
To fit your foot,
If I'd crow my hea-art out."
Notes
Here's the version from An Alphabet of Old Friends (1874) by Walter Crane (this is the version in the mp3):
Hen: Cock, cock, I have la-a-ayed!
Cock: Hen, hen, that's well sa-a-ayed!
Hen: Although I have to go bare-footed every day-a-ay!
Cock: (Con spirito.) Sell your eggs and buy shoes! Sell your eggs and buy shoes!
Photos & Illustrations
Thanks and Acknowledgements
The 1st illustration is from Mother Goose, The Original Volland Edition (1915), edited and arranged by Eulalie Osgood Grover and illustrated by Frederick Richardson (with some graphical editing by Mama Lisa). The 2nd illustration comes from An Alphabet of Old Friends (1874) by Walter Crane (with some graphical editing by Mama Lisa).
