The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1880-09-11
"rHE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT"
A Curious Account OF the Origin Of the
well-Known Nursery Story.

ever, are at all aware of the original form O
its composition or the particular subject II
was dc igned to illustrate. Fewer still would
suspect that it is only an accommodated ano
altered translation of an ancient parabolca
hymn sung by the Jews at the Feast of tn.
Passover, and commemorative of the prin
cipal events in the history of that people
Yet such Is actually the fact. The original
in the Chaldee language, is now lying before
me. and as it may not be uninteresting tC
the readers of the Congregational Magazine
will here furnish them with literal trans
lation of it, and then add the Interpretation
as given by P. N. Leberecht, Leipsic, 1871
The hymn itself is found in Sepher Hagga
dab volume %:
l. A kid kid, my father bought
For two pieces If money:
A kid, kid,
2 Then came the cat and ate the KID
That my father bought,
For two pieces of money
A kid. kid.
8. Then ca me the dog, that bit the cat.
That ate the kid
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
kid, kid.
T. Then came the STAFF and beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my faher bought
For two Iieces of money:
kid, kid.
8. Then came the fire. and burned the STAFF
Tba' beat the dog,
That biz the cat.
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces Of money:
kid, kid.
6. Then came the water. and quenchd the fire.
That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate he kid,
That nv father bought
For two pieces of money;
kid, kid.
I. Then came the and drank the water,
That qrenched the fire,
That burned the stan,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
kid, q kid.
s. Then came the butcher and slew the OF,
That drank The water.
That quenched the fire,
That burned the stat,
That beat the dog,
That Bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
kid, kid.
9. Then came the angel OF death and killed the
butcher,
That slew the OK,
That drank the water,
That quenched the fire,
That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That BIT The Cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
kid, kid.
10. Then came The Holy One, blessed be He,
And killed the angel Of death,
That killed the butcher,
That slew the OK,
That drank the water,
That qnenched the FIRE
That burned the sIaf,
That beat the cog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the bid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of mony.
kid, al kid.
The following is the Interpretation:
/. The kid, which is one of the pure AMI
mails, denotes the Hebrews. The father by
whom it was purchased is Jehovah, who rsp-
resents himself as sustaining this relation to
the Hebrew nation. The pieces Of money
signify Moses and Aaron, through whose
mediation the Hebrews were brought out of
Egypt.
2 The cat denotes the Assyrians, by
whom the Ten Tribes we're carried into cap
tivity.
s. The dog is symbolical of the Babylon
ians.
A. The staff signifed the Persians.
5. The fire indicates the Grecian EN-
pire under Alexander the Great.
6. The water betokens the Roman or the
fourth of the great monarchies to whom the
Jews were subjected.
Z. The OK is symbol of the Sarscens
who subdued Palestine, and brought it under
the chaliphate.
8. The butcher that killed the OK denotes
the Crusaders by whom the Holy Land was
wrested out of the hands of the Saracens.
8. The angel of death signifies the Turk.
ish power, by which the land of Palestine
was taken from the Franks, to whom it is
still subject.
10. The commencement of the tenth
stanza lie designed 20 snow that God will
take signal vengeance on the Turks, imme
diately after whose overthrow the Jews are
to be restored to their own land, and live
under the Government Of their long .ex-
pected Messiah.