In Mother Goose Town, so I’ve heard say,
The animals talk in the strangest way;
Mother Hubbard’s dog meets Jack Sprat’s cat,
And they sit down for a cozy chat.
And the Dog and Cat from the old coal-scuttle,
Have a pleasant talk with Mistress McSchuttle;
They quiet keep, while Little Bo-Peep,
Sings about her long-lost sheep.
One day Little-Boy-All-Alone went into the woods and stepped inside the enchanted circle where all the children and animals enjoy speaking the same language. Mother Hubbard’s Dog said,
“It is fun to go walking up and down,
Sing heigh! sing ho! for Mother Goose Town.”
They took hold of Little-Boy-All-Alone’s coat.
They whisked him away,
For a year and a day.
To his surprise, all the Mother Goose children were making a new cupboard for Mother Hubbard.
The Ten-O’Clock Scholar, who came in late,
Said, “Take an oblong 5 by 8;
Fold it then from left to right,
Open it if you are bright.
Fold each side into the center,
Like a door through which we enter;
Stand it up and you will see,
A cupboard, made by you and me.
Cut slits in the back—put in paper shelves,
From which we all can help ourselves;
Cut out china and things to eat,
Place on the shelves; ’twill be complete.”
Sure enough, Mother Hubbard’s new cupboard was soon finished, and furnished with cut-out china and cut-out food. Simple Simon said,
“Just as soon as I am able,
I will make Jack Sprat a table;
I’ll fold from an oblong or a square—
I can find paper everywhere.
And then some chairs I’ll have to make,
Even with sometimes a mistake.”
Simple Simon was so clumsy, everyone had to help him make a table and chairs for Jack Sprat and his Wife.
They took a shoe box and set the table and chairs in it and fitted up a real little dining room.
Of course, they cut out dishes and food for the table. Tommy Tucker sang,
“Who will cut out a new coal-scuttle
For our poor old Mistress McSchuttle?”
To the surprise of all, they heard the answer,
“I will,” said her Dog and Cat,
“We are tired, sitting on a mat.”
They cut out the new coal scuttle and made the fireplace and andirons of black paper, and pasted it on white. Then Bo-Peep cried,
“Who will help me now to keep
track of all my naughty sheep?”
Will you believe it? They looked over hill and dale and could not find track of the lost sheep, so they cut out rows, and rows, and rows of sheep, and pasted bits of wool upon them to make them look like real sheep. At this very minute the telephone rang:
Little Boy-All-Alone began to frown,
He said, “I was in Mother Goose Town.”
Then he remembered what all the Mother Goose children had been doing, and he ran and got paper and scissors and made a very good cupboard.
He said,
“I have paper, and scissors, and glue,
I can make a very good cupboard, ’tis true.”
He made everything he had seen in Mother Goose Town, and many other things he thought of, like “The House that Jack Built,” and the “Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe,” and so on.
He was no longer alone, for he had his busy fingers and happy thoughts to keep him company.
If you’re ever alone, be happy, too,
And smile instead of frown;
Get scissors and paper, see what you can do,
When you visit in Mother Goose Town.
