—Rimbault’s Nursery Rhymes.
As I sat on a sunny bank,
A sunny bank, a sunny bank;
As I sat on a sunny bank
On Christmas day in the morning.
I saw three ships come sailing by,
Come sailing by, come sailing by;
I saw three ships come sailing by
On Christmas day in the morning.
And who do you think was in those ships? &c.
But Joseph and his lady.
And he did whistle, and she did sing,
And all the bells on earth did ring
For joy our Saviour he was born
On Christmas day in the morning.
—Burne’s Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 564.
[The above verses, except the last one, are sung at Oswestry with these additional ones:—]
Pray, whither sailed those ships all three? &c.
Oh! they sailed unto Bethlehem, &c.
They combed his hair with an ivory comb, &c.
They washed his face in a golden cup, &c.
They wiped his face with a lily-white cloth, &c.
They brushed his shoes with a hairy brush, &c.