(One-leg is a leg of mutton;
two-legs, a man; three-legs,
a stool; four-legs, a dog.)
[114]
The following is another good "tongue twister" (see No. [77]). It is recommended for the little lisper, and in former days it was recommended as a sure cure for the hiccoughs.
When a twister a-twisting would twist him a twist,
For twisting a twist three twists he will twist;
But if one of the twists untwists from the twist,
The twist untwisting untwists the twist.
[115]
"Willy boy, Willy boy, where are you going?
I will go with you, if I may."
"I am going to the meadow to see them a-mowing,
I am going to see them make the hay."
[116]
No. [116] and the two rhymes following are by Miss Wilhelmina Seegmiller. (By permission of the publishers, Rand McNally & Co., Chicago.) Their presence will allow teachers to compare some widely and successfully used modern efforts with the traditional jingles in the midst of which they are placed.
MILKWEED SEEDS
As white as milk,
As soft as silk,
And hundreds close together:
They sail away,
On an autumn day,
When windy is the weather.