Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more
Hung on a kitchen door;
Nothing so long, and nothing so strong,
As Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more
Hung on the kitchen door.
(1846, p. 207.)
The following riddle-rhyme preserves the word lilly-low, which is the north-country term for the flame of a candle:—
Lilly-low, lilly-low, set up on end,
See little baby go out at town end.
(A candle, 1849, p. 146.)
Another riddle on the candle, which also stands in MS. Harl. 1962, and has found its way into nursery collections, is:—
Little Nancy Etticoat with a white petticoat,
And a red nose;
The longer she stands, the shorter she grows.
(1842, p. 114.)
This recalls a riddle current in Devonshire, where the sky is called widdicote:—
Widdicote, widdicote, over cote hang;
Nothing so broad, and nothing so lang
As Widdicote, etc.
(1892, p. 333.)
All these riddle-rhymes are based on primitive conceptions, and all have parallels in the nursery lore of other countries. The rhyme on Hoddy-Doddy in Norwegian is simply descriptive; in France it is told in the form of words exchanged between Noiret, "Blacky," the pot, and Rouget, "Ruddy," the fire. In Italy the Pot, the Smoke, and the Fire are described as three sisters. Again, the riddle-rhyme on the candle is told in Swabia and in France. But in no case are the foreign parallels as close as in the riddle-rhyme of Humpty-Dumpty, and in no case do they preserve the same interesting allusions.