CHAPTER XI
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT COUNTING-OUT GAMES AND THE RHYMES USED BY PLAYERS
When children indulge in counting-out games they are quite indifferent to the fact that since the infancy of history and in every land, civilized, barbarous and savage, other children have played the same game, in much the same way, and have used rhymes that are curiously alike. Some learned men use this fact to prove the unity of all races.
Mr. Beard, to whom I am indebted for much, has collected many of these rhymes. It will interest boys to compare some of them with those he already knows.
Sometimes it happens that there are more boys than words in the counting rhyme, or the counter foresees that he himself will be it. In both cases he adds to the verse something like this:
One, two, three,
Out goes he!
Often he will add a whole verse and dialogue as follows:
One, two, three,
Out goes he,
Into the middle
Of the deep blue sea!
Are you willing to be IT?
Here is a rhyme that has in it a distinctly American twang:
Ena, mena, mina, mo,
Catch a niga by the toe,
When he hollers, let him go,
Ena, mena, mina, mo.
Here is another familiar jingle:
Anna, mana, mona, Mike,
Barcelona bona, strike;
Care, ware, frow, frack,
Hallico, ballico, we, wo, wack!
Huddy, goody, goo,
Out goes you!
Eatum, peatum, penny pie,
Babyloni, stickum stie,
Stand you out there by!
This is Irish:
A lirripeg, a larrapeg,
A bee, a nail, a stone, a stack,
A bonny Billie Gelpie,
A Belia-bug, a warum rock,
Crib-i-stery, Hick!
The little Turks and Armenians use this count:
Allem, Bellem, chirozi,
Chirmirozi, fotozi,
Fotoz, gider magara,
Magarada tilki bash,
Pilki beni korkootdi,
Aallede shooullede
Edirnede, Divid bashi
Ben Ilayen kehad bashi,
French youngsters use this rhyme:
Un, deux, trois,
Tu ne l'est pas;
Quatre, cinq, six,
Va-t'en d'ici!
One, two, three,
Thou art not "it";
Four, five, six,
Go away from here!
Here is how Dutch boys do it:
Een, twee, sen kopje thee;
Een, klotje er bij,
Af ben jij!
Along the Rhine this is popular:
Ene, tene, mone, mei,
Paster, lone, bone, strei,
Ene, fune, herke, berke,
Wer? Wie? Wo? Was?