[If the wrong guess is made the girls say—]
The ball is ours, and none of yours,
And we’ve the right to keep it.
[If the right child is named, they say—]
The ball is yours, and is not ours,
And you’ve the right to take it.
[Some of the children said this rhyme should be—]
The ball is ours, and none of yours,
So you, black gipsies, sit in the sun,
While we the fair ladies go as we come.
—London (A. B. Gomme).
Queen Anne, Queen Anne, she sits in the sun,
As fair as a lily, as white as a swan;
I bring you three letters, so pray you choose one,
I cannot read one without I read all,
So pray —— give up the ball.
[If the wrong girl is asked, they say—]