Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-09-28
Origin Of Nursery Rhymes.

Cinderella; or, the Glass Slipper" is
very old story. Thousands Of years agC
it was told to boys and girls. The ongi
nal read that an eagle stole the slipper of ,
very pretty Egyptian lady and bore it off
The eagle dropped it, and come one carried
it to the king, who made it known all owe
his kingdom that he would marry the lady
whose tiny foot 1t should fit. And 50 Gin
derella, the cinder-girl, became queen. Ii
France, Germany, and this country the
story has taken several shapes, and has al
ways been favorite.
Little Jack Homer" has the following
history: In England, in the reign of Henry
WILL, there lived Mr.. Homer. Henry,
the king, wished to tear down all the fine
monasterles and abbeys of England, sell
their lands and pocket the money. This
Horner was butler, or something, TO an old
abbot, who thought he would gain favor
with Henry by giving him twelve of his
very test and richest monasteries. So the
abbott sent deeds of them to the king by
this John Horner. But Horner thought.
as he ''sat in the corner" of the carriage
On bis wsy to the king, that he would see
what all those great papers which he was
carrying should mean. ''He put in his
thumb and pulled out plum. e., he
opened and read the deeds, put the one for
the largest piece of land in his owp pocket,
gave tie rest to the king at London, and
came home and told his master hat Henry
Will, for his fidelity, had made him g
present of one of the large tracts of land.
ID tr0 oil Ia te
supposed to be Giles Delaval. Lord OF
Rails, and was Marshal of France in 1929.
Jack, the giant-killer," came from
India. He breaks forth in all sorts of doing
all over the books Of the young
And 50 of Jack ard the Bean-stalk.'
"Babies in the Wood is very touching
story. / think the origin of this may be
considered very old ballad, which tells ol
Richard Iii. numbering bis own dear little
nephewa
The story of Little Red Riding Hood
is found in the German, but not exactly as
we tell it in England.
must now tell you of the meaning Of
an old nursery rhyme: -Four and twenty
blackbirds made into pie;" these are the
four-and-twsnty hours of the day; the
"pie" is the space between the earth and
the sky, the fiat looking ground being the
bottom crust, the bIrds in between, and
the sky being the concave top crust.
"When the pie was opened" 1. e., wher
day began to break. ''The birds began to
sing" /. G., the hours too begin merrily.
"The king in the parlor counting out
money!" the liking" is the sun, the monarch
Of the day. There he is enthroned IN the sky.
Heis said to be counting out money, because
the sunshine is gold color. See how he
''counts it out" flings i: about him, the
beautiful golden sunshine. The queer
upstairs eating bread and honey" o.
course, if the king is the sun, the queer
is the moon. "rhe maid in the garden,
hanging out Clothes" This ''maid' il
Aurora, the goddess, not Of the day, bu
of the dawn. Now, ''up jumped littl'
bird and nipped of her nose.h The littl'
bird who did this very ungallant thing is
of course, tie first hour Of the day, fo
Aurora, or dawn, disappears as soon as tn
king, or sun, arises.