There was an old woman called Nothing-at-all,
Who rejoiced in a dwelling exceedingly small:
A man stretched his mouth to its utmost extent,
And down at one gulp house and old woman went.
Notes
It's interesting to see how the line spacing of a rhyme can change it's readability. Here's how the lines are broken for this rhyme in the book The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith:
There was an old woman
Called Nothing-at-all,
Who rejoiced in a dwelling
Exceedingly small:
A man stretched his mouth
To its utmost extent,
And down at one gulp
House and old woman went.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
The rhyme comes from Mother Gooses Chime's, Rhymes and Melodies (published in Philadelphia, by Henry B. Ashmead, circa 1861). This rhyme can also be found in Nursery Rhymes of England 2nd Edition (1843) by James Orchard Halliwell. The illustration can be found in The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (circa 1920) edited by Walter Jerrold (1865 - 1929) and illustrated by Charles Robinson (with some graphical editing of the above image by Lisa Yannucci).
