Read Anywhere, Anytime
See Saw Margery Daw is a short nursery rhyme that swings readers into the world of young Jacky, a boy who is about to get a new master but will earn only a penny a day for his slow work. With its bouncy, seesaw rhythm and playful scolding tone, the rhyme captures a tiny moment of everyday consequence — where effort, or the lack of it, comes with a price. Simple, punchy, and endlessly fun to say aloud, it has kept children chanting for centuries.
See Saw Margery Daw,
Jacky shall have a new master;
Jacky shall earn but a penny a day,
Because he can’t work any faster.
Ririro is the in-house editorial name used by Ririro.com to publish carefully selected traditional rhymes, stories, and verses from the public domain. See Saw Margery Daw is one of the oldest English nursery rhymes, with printed versions traceable to the 18th century, and its origins have been debated by folklorists ever since.
