L. Q. A. “The king sent me three letters, I never read them all,
So pray, Miss ——, deliver the ball.”
Should she have guessed correctly, all the party curtsey, and say—
“The ball is yours and not ours,
You must go to the garden and gather the flowers.”
And the child who had the ball takes the queen’s seat, whilst she retires with the others; but should she have made a mistake, the same party go out again, saying as they curtsey—
“The ball is yours and not ours,
(Repeat) We,” etc.
Mr. Halliwell Phillips, in his book before quoted, has shorter versions of this, with different rhymes.